It is impossible for the American people to escape the bad effects of irresponsible federal government debt. But unfortunately, it is possible for members of Congress to dodge facing the facts — temporarily.
The Senate dodged again this week. But the national debt of $12.1 trillion exists — and it is growing more than a trillion dollars a year!
We have to pay interest on it.
Last year, the deficit — the amount that Congress voted for the federal government to spend more than it collected in taxes — was a staggering $1.4 trillion.
The Congressional Budget Office predicts the deficit will be $1.35 trillion this year.
Additional deficits are expected to be about a trillion dollars or more each year “for the foreseeable future.”
Thus we are allowing our elected officials to mortgage our future at a terribly dangerous rate.
Yet last Tuesday, the U.S. Senate rejected a plan to establish an 18-member “bipartisan task force” that might have proposed “something” this year toward a long-term solution.
Even if a task force had been approved, it would not have offered any remedy for the growing debt until after November — so harsh facts and bad news would not have affected the November voting on senators and representatives.
The thought of doing anything about deficits was rejected in the Senate because Democrats feared there would be a call for spending cuts and Republicans feared there would be a call for tax increases.
Yet “doing nothing” doesn’t mean “nothing” will happen. Doing nothing means we will continue to add a trillion dollars or more in debt each year — upon which we must pay the high interest costs.
Is that “responsible” government?
It is very hard to face the growing national debt. But isn’t it worse not to face it — and for us all to suffer the increasingly bad results?
Congress can dodge remedial action. But none of us can dodge the bad effects.