Government projections of a rising federal debt that will eventually exceed the size of the economy and continue growing after that raise fundamental moral questions for today’s Americans.
“How can we justify burdening our children and future generations with such heavy debts and fiscal liabilities – particularly when so much of the money now is being spent not on investment but simply on current consumption?” asks Harry Zeeve, The Concord Coalition’s national field director, in a new blog posting.
He notes that under one scenario with realistic assumptions in a recent report by the Government Accountability Office, for example, by 2026 the federal debt held by the public would exceed the entire U.S. economy.
“Americans and their political leaders talk frequently about their concern for the young,” Zeeve points out. “Yet our nation’s current path threatens to saddle them with higher taxes, fewer government services and weaker economic prospects than previous generations have enjoyed.”
Citizens can support fiscal reform by making their views know to their elected representatives, writing letters to their local newspapers and asking their churches and other organizations to get involved.
The Concord Coalition also offers several recently updated budget-balancing exercises that can be downloaded for use in classrooms, club meetings and public forums.
External links:
GAO: Alarming Long-Term Fiscal Fiscal Projections
P&P and Other Budget Exercises
