Back in 2015, Senator Tom Coburn published an article in USA Today in which he outlined the existential threat posed by our rising national debt.
The debt, he said, is not merely unsustainable: it's "suicidal":
The United States must end the cycle of endless and unsustainable debt that we’ve seen elsewhere around the world, or it will face the same fate as other nations before us.
Doing nothing to improve Social Security’s solvency will only result in an empty trust fund and risks to future benefits for everyone. The same is true of every other budget-busting program in our bloated federal budget.
Coburn called on that year's crop of presidential candidates to do something, but he wasn't falling prey to wishful thinking. He knew, as all Americans know, that federal politicians are more concerned with benefiting themselves than serving the American people:
The truth is, our leaders in Washington — of both parties — don’t want to have to deal with this potentially calamitous issue. They like the status quo that keeps them in power — on your nickel. Candidates up for re-election in 2016 should be held accountable for their lack of stewardship of the taxpayer’s money. However, with a major election on the horizon, no one wants to explain his responsibility for America’s massive debt.
Too many hollow promises have been made on the campaign trail from candidates who won’t attempt to take the necessary actions to back them up. Washington doesn’t have a plan because it only knows how to add to the problem. Washington is addicted to spending, and for generations, politicians have wanted to spend more and more with no regard for how we are mortgaging the future of our children and grandchildren. Our kids and their kids deserve better.
His predictions proved all-too-correct. Our leaders in D.C. have done nothing about the debt, which recently topped $20 trillion. If we maintain this course, we're headed for disaster.
That's why an Article V Convention of States is still the best solution to our nation's fiscal woes. A Convention of States is controlled by the states and has the power to propose constitutional amendments that force D.C. to do something about the debt.
As Coburn put it:
The only reasonable, constitutional solution is an Article V Convention of the States to change the Constitution. An amending convention would do two things: Enable a national conversation about the challenges facing our nation, and give back a voice to the people. Article V of the Constitution gives state legislatures the authority to call a convention of states that bypasses Congress to amend the Constitution, and it should be used to rein in Washington’s excesses, which threaten the very foundation of our nation.
Washington has an uncontrollable spending habit. The founders gave us a way to combat this federal abuse of authority by calling for a Convention of the States.
