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How will the next President handle the $482 billion budget deficit?
By Lauren | August 1, 2008
The White House raised voters’ eyebrows and heart rates this week when it hiked its estimate of the 2009 budget deficit to $482 billion. Yes, folks, that’s an all-time record, and it gets even more spectacular when you realize that the country had a $128 billion budget surplus during the President’s first year in office. Together, that’s about half a trillion dollars.
Yikes!
Whoever next occupies the White House is going to have some very difficult decisions to make. Yes, Congress passes the federal budget (or the series of spending bills that passes for a budget these days), but it’s up to the President to propose a budget and get into the bully pulpit to explain why some federal expenditures are more worthy than others. And there are lots of places where U.S. tax dollars need to go: servicing the national debt (the people who loaned us that deficit are going to expect a return on their money), shoring up our crumbling roads, bridges and other infrastructure, paying out foreign aid, funding education and social welfare programs, supporting national security and, of course, financing the war in Iraq. A new report by the Congressional Research Service estimates that we’ve spent $648 billion on the war since it began in March 2003. That may explain where a lot of the projected deficit came from (although the White House apparently isn’t counting all of the war expeditures in its calculations).
Even a superpower nation has to pay its debts sooner or later. The longer we delay doing something about the deficit, the bigger and tougher to pay off it will become. That money will need to come from somewhere, either in the form of higher taxes or in budget cuts that will inevitably cause someone pain. It can’t possibly be ethical to burden future generations with a mountain of debt, or to sidestep the tough conversations that will need to take place if we’re ever going to bring the deficit down.
What’s your candidate’s position on the looming budget deficit? Are you satisfied that your candidate has spoken up clearly and strongly about the deficit? Do you know whether he has a plan to reduce it, what that plan is, and how he’d carry it out? Are you okay with what he’d do? You decide.
Topics: Presidential Campaign, Social Ethics, ethics |
August 2nd, 2008 at 2:11 am
Lauren,
Although I am critical of the financial management practices of the U.S goverment, let me stress that overall, I have full respect for your country.
My comments here relate specifically to this issue and are not in any way a criticism of your country as a whole.
Firstly, the most relevant figure in relation to the deficit is not the magnitude of the deficit on an overall basis, but the size of the deficit as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
I’m not certain what the percentage figure is for America here, but I think that it is fairly high.
Second, I cannot criticize about America’s spending on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. America had good intentions when embarking on the war on terror, and it owes it to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan to continue to invest whatever resources are necessary in order to assist those countries.
But I have considerable disdain for the way the American government is throwing money at households and pleading with them to spend, spend, spend. One of my American friends refers to this practice as “giving alcohol to a drunk.” (his words, not mine)
If your country is to return to a path of sustainable economic growth, then households must undergo a severe structural adjustment to get their debt burdens under control. Only once households return to sustainable debt levels can America return to a sustainable path of economic growth and prosperity.
Instead of throwing money at households, the government should be encouraging households to take positive steps to reduce their debt burden to sustainable levels. Living within their means and not spending more than what they earn would be a good start for American households.
But let me stress again, no disrespect toward America is intended in any way in my comments.
Cheers
Andrew
September 4th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
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