CAN WE FIX OUR DEBT PROBLEM?

Addiction to Spending Needs to Stop

“Congress has not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare, but only those specifically enumerated.” Thomas Jefferson

Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.  It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” John Adams

I think most many people know that the US debt is too high.  We are simply spending too much, and just like the family who spends beyond their income, at some point, debt leads to destruction.

How Did We Get Here?

As noted above in the quotes, our federal government was never meant to have the powers it has usurped today.  Most of the executive departments should not exist and Congress should not have the powers it does to spend money we do not have.  It’s easy to blame current politicians for simply spending too much money to buy votes, but our real problems started much earlier. 

Until Lincoln came into office, our nation was seen as a loose association of states with most powers devolved to the states and/or the individual.  He was voted into office to defend and enforce the punitive tariffs imposed most heavily on Southern states, as much as 80%.  Lincoln tripled the rate and said, “"The power confided in me," he said, "will be used to hold, occupy, and possess the property, and places belonging to the government, and to collect the duties and imposts; but beyond what may be necessary for these objects, there will be no invasion--no using force against, or among the people anywhere."  Thus, if the South didn’t pay, the North would invade. The protest by people in one collection site was considered the “first shot,” justifying war to Northern citizens. 

The next destructive blow to the Constitution occurred in 1913, when the Federal Reserve was conceived and an income tax was imposed.  The Fed was designed to take money from the government and give it to the biggest bankers.  Income taxation means re-imposing slavery.  Doubt this?  The definition of a free man is that he owns the product of his labor.  A slave is someone whose labor is owned in part or in toto by another party.  We do not own our labor until Tax Freedom Day which is when, if we sent our entire paycheck to the government, we would start to see any money for ourselves.  It is estimated to be April 16, 2025. 

The Great Depression began a period where America was forever transformed.  The Fed shrunk the money supply which caused employment and income to collapse.  FDR then implemented the New Deal, which created a federal bureaucracy filled with regulatory agencies who could push progressive agendas.  Thus, we began to see a government that would continue to grow and demand increasing funding without a way to slow it down.

Congress now only controls about 30% of the annual budget, instead of 97% back in 1912.  More than 1.5TT in taxes aren’t controlled in any meaningful way. 

Can We Fix it?

The solution isn’t pretty, but we need to get to this work before our country is completely destroyed.  Our debt now means each of us (adult and child alike) owe around $380K, while the interest on the debt keeps growing.  There is no way to afford what politicians promised and people demanded going forward.  Climate change a big problem?  No, this is far bigger and more impactful.

First, federal spending levels need to be cut drastically.  2023 saw 40% more spending than pre-Covid budgets.

Second, a Commission needs to be established to give the public the truth and the bad news, so that a plan can be established that would stabilize debt/GDP at a sustainable level.  Bills to create this commission have been introduced to Congress already and support is bipartisan.

Third, we need to have a Constitutional Amendment that prohibits government growth forever to keep the debt/GDP ratio manageable.  Switzerland has proven this out; they did this 20 years ago.  Historically, states have asked for a Convention of the States to implement fiscal responsibility, but so far, it has gone nowhere.

This will lead to massive unemployment in the government sector, but it is necessary.  Many departments and agencies need to simply cease to exist.  As an example, the Dept. of Education does nothing useful to aid in improving education as it can only look at the problem at a macro level, and all problems are local and individual.  A prosperous town doesn’t need small class sizes and remedial support.  A poorer community or one with limited language skills does.  We are paying billions for illegal immigration, at the city, state and federal level, because Biden is mandating it.  But why?  Veterans are being displaced from housing to give space to illegals.  The EPA has no idea what it’s doing, nor does the CDC.  We’ve seen this.

It also requires something that will be a hard, but necessary pill to swallow.  We need to be self-reliant and stop looking to government to solve our problems and feed our wants.  No one should be allowed to forgive student debt, give freebies endlessly to people who simply don’t want to work and provide pensions and gifts to government workers well in excess of what the private sector offers (while the value of the work is far less than it is in the private sector). 

If politicians can no longer promised these things, we will start to look towards their values and how they see our nation, rather than seeing our vote as promising us a bottomless money pot.  Our government is too big, too expensive and really, not workable anymore.  Let’s get back to the Constitutional limitations and we will ALL be better off.