opinion: U.S. officials must consider more concrete plans to remedy budget woes
“Irresponsible” — that’s the word that keeps coming to mind over and over again lately. So many of our elected officials in Washington are continuing to be brazenly irresponsible with our money - year after year after year. They keep spending money they don’t have while ignoring our obscene accumulated debt ($16 trillion) and enormous yearly deficits (over $1 trillion).
Can you imaging a family making $100,000 per year spending $140,000 per year by borrowing the extra $40,000 every year - over and over again, year after year? That’s what the U.S. is doing. It just doesn’t make sense. It’s just plain irresponsible. Not too long ago, our national financial credit was downgraded for the first time in our history and more downgrades are currently being threatened. Countries that have acted irresponsibly like us for more years than we have are on the verge of bankruptcy and economic collapse (e.g. Greece). That’s where we’re headed. The overspending has to stop now!
Memo to the White House and Congress: Stop spending more than you take in. Do it now. Balance the budget. How about we balance it in 3 years - not 10 or 20? Try this: reduce our spending by, say, 30 percent each year for 3 years and it will be balanced. I’d even settle for 5 years. Please stop ignoring this problem. Stop trying to just be re-elected and do the right thing! You might be surprised. Voters like me will reward such noble behavior.
David S. Fitch
Ann Arbor, MI
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