The federal government is facing a fiscal reckoning that can no longer be dismissed as tomorrow’s problem. Trillion-dollar annual deficits have become routine, with the national debt continuing to climb. Interest payments alone now consume hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars each year—money that buys no roads, no schools, no parks, and no public safety.
Fiscal Responsibility
As this fall’s elections approach, fiscal responsibility should eclipse nearly every other issue. Voters should demand specifics, not platitudes, from candidates. Every candidate for Congress should be required to explain, in plain language, how they intend to reduce chronic deficits and slow the nation’s exploding debt.
This means every corner of the budget must be open to scrutiny. Defense spending cannot remain untouchable, and entitlement programs cannot remain politically sacred. Wasteful spending should be eliminated wherever it exists. If additional revenues, including increasing the Social Security payroll tax cap, must be part of the solution, candidates should have the courage to say so.
America cannot continue to promise everything to everyone—to be the world’s policeman and benefactor—while using borrowed money to do so. Difficult choices delayed only become more painful. The warning signs are sounding, and it’s time for elected leaders to act before the flames reach the front door.
Original reporting: Thousand Oaks Acorn — read the source article.
