Declare our independence from mounting public debt

This OpEd by Gretchen Hamel, executive director of Public Notice, ran in The Times-Leader, The Bristol Herald Courier, and North County Times.

As Americans celebrate 234 years of independence, our still-struggling economy, high unemployment and massive national debt threaten the very freedom and opportunity we so cherish.

One hundred years after our country was founded we had less than $50 billion (in today’s dollars) in debt. Today, the sum is twenty-six times that high. For our country to remain great, the overspending must stop.

Americans know continuing on our present course isn’t an option. This year, we will add another $1.5 trillion to our national debt; and we’re on course to add roughly a trillion more, per year, for the next decade.

According to a recent Gallup poll, Americans identified the national debt among their greatest concerns (tied with terrorism), and 80 percent said they considered the debt an “extremely” or “very” serious threat. Debt was also the most common response when asked what our country’s biggest problem would be in 25 years.

We are right to be so concerned. Every individual, family and business will play a role in paying back Washington’s debt. In 2000, each family’s share of the debt was $68,000. Today, it’s $115,000. By 2020, it’s expected to be $194,000.

Why is our debt growing so fast? Some politicians try to blame “too-low taxes.” But the problem isn’t that taxpayers are starving Washington; it’s that Washington is – and has been for decades – spending far too much, far too fast.

Regrettably, it’s just not our economic health Washington’s over-spending harms. Beyond the threat of higher taxes, higher interest rates, slower economic growth and fewer job opportunities, the debt we’ve taken on threatens even the government’s most basic – and most critical – priorities.

Adm. Mike Mullen recently characterized our nation’s debt as the biggest threat to U.S. national security. Mullen noted that “interest on our debt is $571 billion in 2012 … the size of the defense budget. It is not sustainable.”

The solution to overspending is simple, though implementing it won’t be easy. The super-sized government – with its super-sized budget — needs to be cut down to a reasonable, sustainable level that benefits, rather than burdens, the citizens it serves. This would certainly be a boon to the economy: researchers tend to agree the optimal size for government ranges from 15 to 30 percent of the gross domestic product, the U.S. government today consumes 38 percent of GDP — up 8 percent since 2000.

It might seem hard to imagine Washington acting responsibly, showing restraint and reversing its long-enjoyed tradition of over-spending. Yet it is achievable. After  all, our federal budget isn’t the result of a natural disaster that we can’t control. It isn’t a product of a deranged dictator from a faraway hostile country. This is our government. These are our leaders.

Our founders knew the importance of having a limited government its citizens could afford. Americans everywhere are seeing our present crisis – and the government often adding to the problems instead of solving them. We have an opportunity to reclaim our government and right America’s course. It’s our duty as citizens to demand that our elected officials represent our best interests and fulfill their duty to serve as good stewards of our nation’s economic future. That begins by cutting government now.

Gretchen Hamel is the executive director of Public Notice, a Virginia-based, bipartisan organization dedicated to providing facts and insights on the effect public policy has on Americans’ financial well-being. Visit www.thepublicnotice.org.