If America were a medical patient…
… the doctor would be taking extreme measures. The doctor would also be telling the family that the cure could KILL the patient. The choices are simple: If you don’t take the medicine the patient will die. If the patient takes the medicine, it could kill him.
With that little dose of optimism, let me explain.
With the election of Donald Trump, hope is strong among most Americans. It might be good to set aside the giddiness and take a serious look at where our economy really is.
Our national debt is about to exceed $20 Trillion dollars.
Unfunded liabilities total nearly $105 Trillion dollars.
Total liability per taxpayer is almost $1 Million dollars.
Current spending is $4 Trillion dollars, with government revenue at $3.3 Trillion dollars.
Before adding the cost of any Trump proposals such as rebuilding the military and America’s infrastructure, the numbers are mind boggling.
If we launched a plan to pay off the national debt (without covering unfunded liabilities or ANY new programs) over ten years, it would look something like this: Each year, for ten years, we would have to reduce spending and/or increase government revenue by $3 Trillion dollars. That’s about double current government revenue. That’s BEFORE any new spending. That’s quite a stretch even if the economy were to grow at a robust 6% (that’s higher than projections).
Don’t get me wrong. I’m cautiously optimistic that a Trump administration could be a positive one. My concern is that we don’t lose focus of just how big the problems really are. Even if total control by Republicans turns us in the right direction, we have some very significant economic problems to solve. So, what must we do?
Take the medicine, and hope for the best.
***Gordon Howie is an author and CEO of Life and Liberty Media***
“It’s not about right or left, it’s about Right or Wrong.”
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How about a war surtax, like we’ve had before? Too many Americans have no skin in the game with our national defense any more, and that’s not good. And putting wars on the credit card is, of course, a major contributor to the debt.
I’m not a real fan of ANY new taxes. I agree that there should be a plan to pay for national programs/wars etc.. living on a credit card isn’t a very good idea.