Today's Sun Telegraph "Our Opinion" attempts to walk a fine line and re-report what has been bashed around for months: Do we raise the debt ceiling or not?
Displaying the lack of conviction they have for any serious matter, the paper fails to actually take a position and instead, asks you what do you think? Hardly the cutting stuff of the New York Times.
The question of the debt ceiling is massively important. There is no question among Democrats or Republicans that it should be raised. The question is by how long and will there be spending reforms to act in restraint of a future borrowing limit extension in the future.
I do not believe that August 2nd will see an economic collapse if a debt ceiling arrangement isn't reached. The government still has the ability to fund 54% of its operations and frankly there must be a spending compromise this time.
Moody's, along with Standard and Poors are hinting that our stellar credit rating might be harmed if we don't arrange an increase in the spending limit. Think about this for a minute. The economic doom being bandied about would come if we are not able to pay existing foreign debt. The biggest reason for raising the debt ceiling is so we can borrow from Peter to pay Paul for money we borrowed under the last debt ceiling increase. Arguing this same point all the way back in 1798, John Adams admonished the Congress on the accumulation of debt:
"The consequences arising from the continual accumulation of public debts in other countries ought to admonish us to be careful to prevent their growth in our own." He further advised that the government should prioritize its spending according to the Constitutional mandates of providing first for the Defense and the support of the government but that, "both should be accomplished as much as possible by immediate taxes and as little as possible by loans." What, pray tell, would Mr. Adams do today?
Unless there is a substantial, structural reduction in spending, which this President and his comrades in the Senate are mightily resistant to thus far, the regular routine of asking Congress to raise the limit without unchecked spending will reach a point where you cannot borrow enough. In my opinion, that will be the truly catastrophic point of no return.
Here is my opinion. Substantial changes to social programs must accompany the necessary raising of this debt ceiling. The government must reduce its current expenditures by at least 20%. That means, without order of blame assignment as plenty exists for both left and right, that military spending must be reduced to essentials only. We must reduce our presence as the world's policemen because as demonstrated in Iraq and Afghanistan, they do not appreciate freedom enough to fight for it themselves. Ending our involvement will reduce a significant amount of expenses to our government.
People in this country need to also understand that Social Security is a flawed system for reasons iterated many times before in this publication. We do not need changes to push solvency out x number years. It will still be a broken system x number of years from now. Return rates on Social Security payments made while working are a horrible joke. Only the truly uninformed think it is a good investment. A new social compact must be developed and instituted for the youth of this country (Those under 45) that shifts away from the current plan into something with better growth capability. The existing plan, until it dies off with those who will collect from it, must be means tested without cap. Those who do not need it as income must forgo receipt of payment in order to ensure those who have no other source of income receive their money first. Medicare must also face the same fate, perhaps more so as costs for caring for an aging population typically see the last five years of life as the most expensive years for healthcare. The nation is too populous to bear such a burden on the backs what is arguably too small a tax payer base to begin with.
End tax loopholes and deductions for everyone except those who truly cannot help themselves. If you cannot work because your are physically unable, you get taken care of. Stop coddling people who claim that life is too stressful and they must be able to weigh 400 pounds and smoke cigarettes and drink booze while getting one over on the man. Additionally, flatten the tax code so everyone can do their tax forms themselves. This also means that you must be able to do simple math so make educating your children a priority. Cut the corporate tax rate to zero for companies who employ 85% or their global workforce in the U.S. Spend time tracking the U.S. tax rate compared to other countries and make our business climate the most friendly (although not totally stupid) economy to business and jobs as possible, balanced against reasonable environmental oversight.
Term limits on Congress. 10 years for the House, 12 years for the Senate. End pork as we know it. End lobbying as we know it.
In the end, the debt ceiling must be increased. It must be accompanied by a substantial change in how we, as a nation of people, allow our government to function or even exist at all. Unless the people of this nation stand up and demand a change the seeds of the fall of the American Experiment will not only be sown, but will likewise be watered by our own greed. It is time to put the nation and not any single person, party or thing in front of it. The time for hard choices is upon us and I urge you to demand the kind of change that will make this exercise in the future unnecessary.
To be American means to Think and Act American!
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