To the Editor,
The ghost writer who prepared President Biden’s State of the Union address must have flunked math at school. Biden’s claim that he’d be the only president to ever reduce the deficit by a trillion or more in a single year, had no merit.
In March 2021, there was the $2 trillion COVID Relief bill; December 2021 another $900 billion; and $2 trillion more in March 2021. Most of these funds were borrowed and added to our long-term debt. Biden’s proposed Build Back Better bill would cost another $2 trillion. On a bipartisan basis, both Democrats and Republicans are to blame for our national debt growing from $4 trillion in 1992 to more than $30 trillion in 2022.
It is time to install a national debt clock with daily updates in both Congress and the White House. They can see daily how much they are adding to long-term debt every time they pass spending bills dependent upon borrowing to pay the tab.
Our national debt has reached $30.3 trillion and is on a path to grow by $1 trillion or more for years to come. Today’s tab averages $91.100 per citizen or $241.611 per taxpayer. (Source: March 14, 2022 National Debt Clock)
Who is going to bail out Uncle Sam to pay for this? Government, the private sector and citizens must make difficult financial decisions on how to use existing resources. Americans prioritize their own family budgets. They make the difficult choices in how existing household financial resources will be spent.
The world’s favored currency is our dollar. This could end if Washington will not control annual increases in spending and debt. If things continue the way they are, don’t be surprised if China surpasses us. Our reign as the No. 1 super power will come to an end like all empires.
Larry Penner
