It's not a Republican saying it. It's not a Fox News pundit or a Tea Party leader saying that debt is going to destroy the country, although each of those sources has each said that very thing--in some cases years ago.
"This debt is like a cancer. It is truly going to destroy the country from within," said Democrat Erskine Bowles, Bill Clinton's former chief of staff and current co-chair of President Obama's National Debt Committee.
The debt, which grew under the liberal spending policies of Republican George W. Bush and exploded with the Progressive programs of Barack Obama, will stand at $14 trillion next year. The U.S. faces an insurmountable amount of unfunded liabilities--a staggering $109 trillion.
Both of the top two budget items--Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security--are Progressive pet projects, foisted on us by their hero, FDR. They account for $1.5 trillion--or 41 percent of federal spending. These figures are before Obama's national healthcare plan.
What Bowles announced, in essence, is the failure of Progressivism as a viable philosophy as it relates to public policy.
Will President Obama heed the warning of the man he himself appointed to study the debt? Or will he continue to radically expand the size of government past the point of no return?
When Progressives get concerned about the debt, however, they start thinking about raising taxes. Such a movie would only serve to put the final nail in the coffin of the American economy--the productive citizens and companies of which already struggle under a crushing tax burden.
Bowles, anticipating this response, also said "we can't tax our way out" of the debt problem, nor can we grow out way out of it--even if we had decades of double-digit economic growth.
There is only one solution left. Cut spending. Cut spending, Congress. Cut spending, states. Cut the entitlements and social programs. Don't waste any more time--we don't have any more left, and as Bowles warns, we face destruction as a nation if we don't shrink the government now.
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Eric Ingemunson's commentary has been featured on Hannity, CNN, NBC, Inside Edition, and KFI's The John and Ken Show.
Eric was born and raised in Ventura County and currently resides in Moorpark. He earned a master's degree in Public Policy and Administration from California Lutheran University. As a conservative, Eric supports smaller government, less taxation, more individual freedom, the rule of law, and a strict adherence to the Constitution.
