Deficit
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
Democrats say deficit is no problem.
Just this week we hit $16 trillion in national debt – that’s about $53,333 for every man, woman and child in the United States. But what’s worse is, the debt is growing larger every day. By 2016 it could hit $20 trillion, or $66,667 per person. So, in four short years a family of five will owe $333,333. That’s a boat load of money – especially when you consider that the national debt was only a little over $10 trillion four years ago when Mr. Obama became president.
The Democrats will certainly tell you that there is nothing to worry about. They will say that the U.S. has always carried a debt load and that there is no country richer, more stable, or better prepared to meet its obligations. They will also tell you that if the debt were a real problem, people around the world wouldn’t be purchasing our debt through the bond markets.
There is a small amount of truth in this, but they don’t tell you the whole story. According to the numbers the financial foundation of the economy appears to be deteriorating.
A little over 50 percent of adults pay federal income taxes. One in every six Americans live in poverty and the number of Americans receiving food stamps has increased to 46.7 million people. The cost of the program has doubled in the last four years, to its current level of $75.7 billion. In June of this year more Americans signed up for Social Security disability payments than those who found a job. More than 107 million Americans are receiving some kind of government assistance – not counting all the millions of seniors who have Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, or those additional millions who work for the government on all levels.
Between 2007-2010 the average American household’s net worth dropped by 40 percent. The average household income has dropped from $55,470 in 2000 to $50,964 in 2012 – and nearly 5 percent during the current so-called recovery. In the last three and a half years government spending has increased by 25 percent. We are spending 24 percent of our Gross Domestic Product. The Congressional Budget Office is predicting that we will go into another recession next year – if $500 billion in federal tax hikes and spending cuts go into effect on Jan. 1. The unemployment rate has stayed above 8 percent for the last 42 months, but the real unemployment rate is nearly 15 percent.
After the country lost its AAA rating in 2011, the national debt grew by 11 percent. Gross Domestic Product only grew by 2 percent. The U.S. debt has grown by 60 percent in the last four years while GDP has grown by only 7.7 percent. During the last three years the annual budget deficit has averaged $1.34 trillion, while the previous highest single-year deficit was $459 billion.
Even now the Democrats will say that all this deficit spending, dependency, and debt don’t really matter, because of who we are, America. Our country could face funding shortfalls that could only be solved by printing more money and that would likely provoke unacceptable inflation. Whatever candidates you support this November, make sure they can do the math on the current fiscal crisis. This may well entail personal sacrifice from the rest of us, as Americans have received more benefits than we are willing or able to pay for. If we don’t rein in spending and get the economy growing again, soon the party will be over.
Congressman Joe Donnelly has consistently voted with President Obama on health care and raising the debt limit. It’s time to “let him go” and vote for a true conservative, Richard Mourdock for U.S. Senate. Mr. Mourdock will make cutting spending and balancing the federal budget his first priority in the U.S. Senate. He will work to reduce the size of the federal government and spur private business and economic growth.
Larry Wilkinson
Kimmell, via e-mail[[In-content Ad]]
Democrats say deficit is no problem.
Just this week we hit $16 trillion in national debt – that’s about $53,333 for every man, woman and child in the United States. But what’s worse is, the debt is growing larger every day. By 2016 it could hit $20 trillion, or $66,667 per person. So, in four short years a family of five will owe $333,333. That’s a boat load of money – especially when you consider that the national debt was only a little over $10 trillion four years ago when Mr. Obama became president.
The Democrats will certainly tell you that there is nothing to worry about. They will say that the U.S. has always carried a debt load and that there is no country richer, more stable, or better prepared to meet its obligations. They will also tell you that if the debt were a real problem, people around the world wouldn’t be purchasing our debt through the bond markets.
There is a small amount of truth in this, but they don’t tell you the whole story. According to the numbers the financial foundation of the economy appears to be deteriorating.
A little over 50 percent of adults pay federal income taxes. One in every six Americans live in poverty and the number of Americans receiving food stamps has increased to 46.7 million people. The cost of the program has doubled in the last four years, to its current level of $75.7 billion. In June of this year more Americans signed up for Social Security disability payments than those who found a job. More than 107 million Americans are receiving some kind of government assistance – not counting all the millions of seniors who have Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, or those additional millions who work for the government on all levels.
Between 2007-2010 the average American household’s net worth dropped by 40 percent. The average household income has dropped from $55,470 in 2000 to $50,964 in 2012 – and nearly 5 percent during the current so-called recovery. In the last three and a half years government spending has increased by 25 percent. We are spending 24 percent of our Gross Domestic Product. The Congressional Budget Office is predicting that we will go into another recession next year – if $500 billion in federal tax hikes and spending cuts go into effect on Jan. 1. The unemployment rate has stayed above 8 percent for the last 42 months, but the real unemployment rate is nearly 15 percent.
After the country lost its AAA rating in 2011, the national debt grew by 11 percent. Gross Domestic Product only grew by 2 percent. The U.S. debt has grown by 60 percent in the last four years while GDP has grown by only 7.7 percent. During the last three years the annual budget deficit has averaged $1.34 trillion, while the previous highest single-year deficit was $459 billion.
Even now the Democrats will say that all this deficit spending, dependency, and debt don’t really matter, because of who we are, America. Our country could face funding shortfalls that could only be solved by printing more money and that would likely provoke unacceptable inflation. Whatever candidates you support this November, make sure they can do the math on the current fiscal crisis. This may well entail personal sacrifice from the rest of us, as Americans have received more benefits than we are willing or able to pay for. If we don’t rein in spending and get the economy growing again, soon the party will be over.
Congressman Joe Donnelly has consistently voted with President Obama on health care and raising the debt limit. It’s time to “let him go” and vote for a true conservative, Richard Mourdock for U.S. Senate. Mr. Mourdock will make cutting spending and balancing the federal budget his first priority in the U.S. Senate. He will work to reduce the size of the federal government and spur private business and economic growth.
Larry Wilkinson
Kimmell, via e-mail[[In-content Ad]]
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