As concerning as the $22 trillion (and growing) national debt is, that's only the first of two major financial problems facing our nation.
Even more concerning are "unfunded obligations."
The Daily Signal recently published a great overview of how unfunded obligations put each American on the hook for $240,000.
Our forefathers would shudder at our current $22 trillion in gross national debt. By the end of 2019, the debt will be close to $23 trillion. That amounts to a credit card bill of $69,200 for every man, woman, and child in America.
But that’s only the money that the government has explicitly borrowed. It doesn’t include any measure of “unfunded obligations”—money the government doesn’t have, but nonetheless promised to spend.
Unfunded obligations are often considered problems for future citizens, but with Medicare and Social Security both running cash flow deficits and running out of money in 2026 and 2035, respectively, these future obligations have become a current burden.
Social Security’s unfunded obligations alone amount to $13.9 trillion. This means that, over the next 75 years, the government has promised to pay out $13.9 trillion more than it expects to collect in payroll taxes.
At $42,200 per person, Social Security’s shortfall alone is about as much as the average person earns in a year. It’s enough to buy a new sedan and pay for a year’s rent in a median-rent two-bedroom apartment.
If Social Security’s shortfall wasn’t bad enough, it pales in comparison to Medicare’s $42.3 trillion in unfunded obligations. At $128,500 per person—a whopping $514,000 for a family of four—America’s runaway Great Society program, lauded by socialists as a model for the future of health care, is already breaking America’s bank.
All combined, each American effectively owns $240,000 worth of U.S. debt and unfunded obligations—an amount equal to the average home price in the U.S. Just imagine having to pay two mortgages instead of one just to cover past government excesses.
The solution proposed by the authors at the Daily Signal is woefully misguided. They believe, essentially, that we should continue doing what we've been doing for the last five decades -- trust Congress.
But Congress has shown time and again that it's unwilling to make the tough financial decisions for the good of our nation. Members won't jeopardize their next reelection campaign by pushing an unpopular policy, and our children and grandchildren will bear the brunt of their inaction.
Electing new Senators and Representatives hasn't worked, either. Six months in Washington is enough to bring even the most "fiscally responsible" politicians into the party line. And the leaders who do maintain their conservative values represent a tiny percentage of both the Senate and the House.
We need a solution as big as the problem. We need a strategy we haven't tried before, and we've found it in Article V of the Constitution.
An Article V Convention of States is called and controlled by the states and has the power to propose amendments to the U.S. Constitution. These amendments can force Congress to be fiscally responsible by mandating a balanced budget, limiting taxation, and capping spending.
Under these fiscal restraints, federal officials will have no choice but to clean up the mess they've made, reduce the debt, get unfunded mandates under control, and put our nation back on track.
Sign the Convention of States Petition below to show your support!
