What are the solutions to the US debt and its' consequences?

            A topic that American politicians and citizens are completely sick of or confused about is the U.S. debt. Not many people seem to be in a hurry to resolve this problem even though it will have a huge impact for our future. This topic is of interest to me because although it is one of the biggest problems facing the U.S., most proposed solutions have a negative effect on many people and someone will have to take a hit if our country wants to find the resolutions to our debt.

            The first topic that must be discussed to better understand what the U.S. is heading towards, in relations to the U.S. debt, are the consequences if we cannot stabilize and lower the debt. If the 15 trillion plus debt continues to rise, this could be a disastrous event and destroy the already fragile economy of the U.S. If it kept rising, the U.S. Treasury would continue to sell bonds and notes in an attempt to offset the current year’s deficit. If our debt is so large that buyers do not feel safe buying U.S. bonds, which are the safest in the world and therefore have low interest rates, the Treasury Department would have to increase interest rates to stay competitive. According to an article by Gail Chaddock from The Christian Science Monitor, this would, in effect, cause the U.S. to pay creditors more to borrow from them. This could happen at any time because we do this every year; therefore, we have to find a way to avoid deficits.

            When the U.S. has a certain amount of money coming in, which mainly consists of taxes, this is the revenue. When the U.S. is spending money on government programs, like Social Security and National Defense, this can be considered our budget; what the president has planned to spend the revenue on. But when our revenue is less than the amount spent towards our budget, we are left with a deficit. According to an article from CNN on the matter of a balanced budget, the U.S has had a budget deficit every year since 1970 except during President Clinton’s second term, where there was a surplus every year. Although you can’t simply copy Clinton’s actions because they came during a different time with different circumstances, you can see how a surplus is created.

            From 1998-2001, when the U.S. had a budget surplus, the most noticeable action taken was a tax increase. It isn’t something any American is for, but there’s really no way around it; it has to be done if we want to have a balanced budget and a chance at stabilizing the debt. Now I’m not going to throw a number out there because that is not my job. It is however, the job of the men and women we elect to a government position. I believe, even before an increase in taxes arises, our elected officials have to start realizing that they are chosen to make the hard decisions, whether people will like you for it or not. Like I said, no American wants to pay more to a government that is sometimes questionable with their spending, we don’t want to see some valuable programs take cuts, but it must be done because someone needs to make the hard decisions.

“I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labours of the people under the pretence of taking care of them.” — Thomas Jefferson

            If they can start making these decisions, America could be on a better track. This new stance will lead to spending in a more useful way. The programs that are usually called into question are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Although these programs definitely need a great deal of reform and cuts could be put in place to succeed at this, there are already plenty of options that were put out there to fix these programs and all of them have a huge negative impact that come along with them. I think one of the first gradual cuts needs to belong to National Defense. A very important part of this country nonetheless, but it does cost a lot of money to fund a program that shows the U.S. spends more on its’ military than any other country. In fact, the U.S. spends more than 40% of the entire world’s expenses on military. This, according to an article from Real Clear World, also shows that China is next with about 8%. Our National Defense program has many unnecessary expenses as well. Government money goes towards weapons that military officials don’t even agree with. This is because the Pentagon sets forth military programs for the military even if they don’t have much use or are flawed. A congressional newspaper, The Hill, noted that a recent 30 year budget plan was flawed and Congress did not have enough time to look over it to point these flaws out. If the military is unsatisfied on how they have to spend their money, maybe there shouldn't be money for those programs. By making gradual cuts to programs like National Defense and making several reforms to Social Security and Medicare, a significant amount of money can then be erased from government spending.

If you would like to be overwhelmed and terrified by some updated numbers, check out this website: National Debt Clock