Too Much Debt – foreign debt is more of a threat to American sovereignty than any terrorist plot.?
The United States federal government has accumulated debt of
more than $14 trillion over the last few decades, and that debt is expected to
grow significantly in coming years. This burden is an extremely serious drag on
our economy. Borrowing more and more money would threaten the livelihoods of
Americans, as well as our standing with the rest of the world. So it is
important that we act now, so we can set our nation on a new course.
It’s actually very simple to see how we’ve gotten to this
point. Just like with our personal finances, the federal government has to
borrow money when the revenue it collects is not enough to cover the amount it
spends. This is our budget deficit. The government’s current largest
expenditures are defense, health care and Social Security.
Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, is the market value of all
of the goods and services produced in our country. At one point, our revenues
from taxes were set at 20 percent of the GDP, and our expenditures were at 21
percent. Then Republicans pushed taxes from 20 down to 16 percent of the GDP,
while Democrats raised government spending to 25 percent. A system that was
nearly in balance has been wrecked by both parties. Reforming our taxation
system and reducing the costs of those programs are critical to creating a
debt-free budget.
Like with a credit card, carrying a balance on loans is not
free. Our government now spends about $200 billion every year just on interest
payments, and we get nothing for it. Half of this money goes overseas to
foreign countries that own our debt. These are the same countries who are our
economic competitors. In order to keep this money flowing, we must answer to
our creditors, as they control our finances. This is no way to run a country.
Compromise must be found, revenue must go up, and spending must go down. Most
importantly, the United States must find a way to sustain itself again, because
living on foreign debt is more of a threat to American sovereignty than any
terrorist plot.
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