Republicans have controlled both houses of Congress since 2015 and the House of Representatives since 2011. Led by Paul Ryan, a so-called "fiscal conservative," one would expect our nation's finances to be in better shape than when he began as Speaker of the House.
Think again.
As recent analysis as Bloomberg points out,
When Paul Ryan became speaker of the House in 2015, the federal budget deficit was $438 billion. He blamed the “failed policies of President Obama” for budget deficits that had exploded to $1.4 trillion in 2009, the year after the Great Recession, though shortfalls began shrinking in the following years and were continuing to fall as Ryan took the gavel.
Today, with Ryan preparing to retire from Congress, the annual federal budget deficit is again approaching $1 trillion. Over his two decades in Congress, the total national debt increased from less than $6 trillion to nearly $22 trillion.
To most Americans, those are just numbers. Most people can't even imagine $22 trillion, let alone how it might affect their everyday lives.
But everyone remembers the fiscal crisis of 2008. Americans remember the layoffs and part-time work, the tight budgets and sparse Christmases.
The inability of our federal leaders to control the debt and deficit could be pushing us to another recession.
Marc Goldwein, senior vice president and policy director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, told Bloomberg that it wouldn't take much for that to happen:
The U.S. financial system can digest a higher debt-to-GDP ratio, because global investors have faith in the Treasury’s assets, Goldwein adds. But markets move fast, and just a slight slip in confidence could become even more dangerous with a heavier debt load. “The best-case scenario is that current deficits are really eating up domestic investment—which they are—and will continue to slow our economic growth. Worst-case scenario or scariest scenario, we’re heading for a debt-driven financial crisis,” he says.
So, what's the solution? It won't come from Washington. As Bloomberg points out, "The increasing rancor of American politics makes it almost impossible to conjure the political courage necessary to make the tough compromises that would reverse these spending trends, which get more complicated to address the longer they continue."
Federal officials won't make the tough decisions, which is why We the People need to step in.
Article V of the Constitution allows the people, acting through their state legislatures, to call a Convention of States for the purpose of proposing constitutional amendments.
These amendments can force Congress to get our nation's fiscal house in order. They can include a balanced budget amendment, but we need more than that. We also need tax caps (so the feds can't just increase taxes to balance the budget) and spending limits (to force them to cut unnecessary and wasteful government programs).
We've trusted Washington, D.C., with our financial security for long enough. They've betrayed that trust and jeopardized the futures of our children and grandchildren. Fortunately, the Founders gave We the People a solution as big as the problem.
We just have to use it.
Sign the Convention of States Petition below to put fiscal restraints on the feds!
