The U.S. National Debt officially just reached sixteen trillion dollars.

While shocking, this may not be much of a surprise, as we’ve been building towards this for a while. This February, our debt-to-GDP ratio, a prime indicator of economic health, soared to over 100%. In other words, for the first (and only other) time since the Great Depression, the United States owes more than it produces. And, with today’s catastrophic turn, it’s very clear that it’s only getting worse. We’re heading toward a fiscal cliff.

Earlier this spring, researchers at the National Bureau of Economic Research published a paper identifying 26 distinct episodes of lopsided debt ratios, or “debt overhang” since 1800 in advanced economies. In their analysis, they reached the following conclusions, which should be a frightening wakeup call for those who downplay the significance of a number so large it borders on esoteric:

1. In all 26 cases, the average duration was twenty three years, with five of the six shorter episodes (occurring for less than ten years) happening immediately after World Wars I and II. By contrast, the authors found that the long average duration was caused primarily by public debt buildup during recessions. The lesson? Self-inflicted debt issues as massive as ours do not resolve themselves overnight. Get ready for more pain.

2. Additionally, the authors found real negative effects on growth, which were significant “even in the many episodes where debtor countries were able to secure continual access to capital markets at relatively low interest rates. For non-economists? Even when money is cheap, debt still makes it hard to grow.

As we struggle with unemployment over eight percent, simple economics tell us that putting Americans back to work will be extraordinarily difficult without real growth. And, with the debt increasing at such a high rate, the outlook looks pretty bleak. Given things the way they currently stand, we’re sharing a destiny with economies on the brink like Italy and Greece, countries who have shouldered unsustainable debt burdens for over a decade now. Simply put, we’re staring at a fiscal cliff.

To almost everyone, sixteen trillion dollars is a number so ridiculous it’s unfathomable, and we won’t be able to address a number so large without systemic reform that is bold and courageous. Recently, Ending Spending published The Fiscal Cliff, a book we commissioned which lays out a plan that meets that criteria. We then sent a copy to all 435 members of Congress in hopes that they would become inspired to show the sort of leadership that values doing the right thing over re-election. We’ll see.

Visit this link and download a copy of the e-book. It’s free and we want you to read it. Even if you don’t agree with everything in it, we can at least agree on this: with sixteen trillion dollars on the table, it’s time to start talking real solutions.

This morning, Dan Spencer at RedState.com wrote about how our country can avoid bankruptcy even as we hurdle closer to the fiscal cliff each day. Every American should read what Dan has to say and watch the excellent video that goes with it.

By Dan Spencer, RedState.com

The Congress doesn’t cut spending and balance the budget because they can’t. Not even if they remove every department and employee including the military.

So says Hal Mason in the shocking accompanying video titled, “United States Budget Dilemma.”

President Obama, in his proposed Fiscal Year 2013 budget, would spend $3.8 trillion. But the federal government will only collect $2.5 trillion in taxes, resulting in a deficit of $1.3 trillion. That $1.3 trillion is an amount larger than Congress appropriates to operate the federal budget.

The problem is easily stated; spending on mandatory programs and interest is greater than taxes collected. According to Mason, in order to balance the budget, Congress would have to raise taxes 50 percent or eliminate the federal government.

Congress has failed to adequately address the problem by continuing raise the debt limit and borrow more and more until we now have a $16 Trillion national debt. $16 Trillion exceeds 100 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product and is 25 percent of the world’s gross domestic product. Worse the Democrat-controlled Senate hasn’t even passed a budget in over three years.

Yesterday’s CBO report demonstrates the dangerous course our country is on – one that will take us deeper into a recession. As the headline on Politico’s story about the report makes painfully clear, the “fiscal cliff equals recession.” That is what we at Ending Spending have been arguing for some time.

Indeed, last month we published a book called The Fiscal Cliff: How America Can Avoid a Fall and Stay on Top, a copy of which we sent to every Member of Congress and Senator before they left Washington for August recess. The CBO projects that if Congress fails to keep us from falling off the cliff, our economy, as measured by gross domestic product, would shrink at a rate of 2.9 percent in the first half of next year, and that unemployment could spike – once again exceeding 9 percent. This is unacceptable.

We have an opportunity to get our country on the right track if our leaders are willing to be honest with the American people about the economic problems we face and work together to resolve them – a good idea as we approach Labor Day.

One of our primary missions at Ending Spending is to educate the American people on the dangers of the coming fiscal crisis.

As we have said repeatedly, the United States now faces the most predictable economic crisis in our history. For the fourth straight year, the federal government will run a trillion-dollar-plus budget deficit. Our entitlement programs are in desperate need of reform. Recent projections issued by the Congressional Budget Office forecast that U.S. public debt will reach 70 percent of our nation’s gross domestic product by the end of the year – the highest since shortly after the end of World War II.

This much is clear: It’s time for a return to common sense. But don’t just take our word for it…

Using the most up-to-date data, two top economists from the University of Southern California have authored The Fiscal Cliff, a nuts-and-bolts primer for the real story of our nation’s debt crisis.

And you can be among the first to get your hands on it. By signing up here, you can receive a free copy of the e-book. Or, if you’d prefer a hard copy, you can order the book on Amazon here.

We hope you will let us know what you think about the book by leaving a comment on this post. Most importantly, please visit our Action Center to let your elected officials in Washington know you want them to act immediately to prevent us from falling off… the fiscal cliff.

In the course of political campaigns, there are a lot of whoppers – and one of the biggest whoppers in the Utah Senate race came yesterday from former Utah State Senator Dan Liljenquist. Liljenquist wrongly claimed during a campaign event that Sen. Orrin Hatch is the “third biggest earmarker in all of Congress,” and his campaign repeated that falsehood in a press release.

The voters of Utah deserve the truth, which is this: without Sen. Hatch’s leadership, Congress never would have been able to pass the earmark ban in 2010.

The fact is, in 2010, at a time when very few in the Senate wanted to ban pork-barrel earmarks, Sen. Hatch stood on the side of the American people. Sen. Hatch was one of the leaders in the fight to implement the historic moratorium on earmarks, and for that Ending Spending was proud to name Sen. Hatch a taxpayer “Hero.” As an example of his courageous leadership, Sen. Hatch actually took the extra step and withdrew his previous earmark requests, and thus was only one of a few Senators to have had no earmark requests in the proposed spending bills that year. More importantly, the Senator has voted to pass a permanent ban on earmarks, including as recently as February of this year.

As an independent group that tracks earmark requests, we can unequivocally say that while the Senator sponsored earmarks in the past, he was absolutely not the third biggest earmarker in Congress by a long-shot. Don’t just take our word for it: that claim has also been debunked by outside fact-checking groups, such as FactCheck.org.

Mr. Liljenquist appears to be talking out of both sides of his mouth. According to the same article – which I hope is incorrect – Liljenquist said he “supports Congressional directed spending.” Perhaps someone should point out to Mr. Liljenquist that “Congressionally directed spending” is just a fancy way of saying that he actually supports “earmarks.”

Finally, Sen. Hatch’s principled and consistent push for a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution demonstrates that he is a part of the solution in the fight against the out-of-control spending spree in Washington.

Ed Morrissey has a must read post up at Hot Air, which includes this important badge from The Heritage Foundation.

To add this widget to your own blog, please follow this link.

President Obama’s proposed 2013 budget projects a deficit for next year of $1.33 trillion – that’s four straight years of trillion-dollar-plus deficits. In a rare bipartisan rebuke, the Senate overwhelmingly rejected this same, irresponsible budget last year. By presenting a plan containing another trillion-dollar deficit, we are confident that the Congress will not pass this proposed budget either.

The U.S. needs to come up with a common-sense budget that reduces the deficit and curbs the rapid growth of entitlement programs. Only when we rein in reckless and wasteful spending will our economy achieve sustained and reasonable growth.

Related Links:
THE PRESIDENT’S BUDGET IS OUT, PUNCH LINE NOT INCLUDED
MUST READ: “THE COST OF OBAMA”
THE BUDGET THAT MADE THE PRESIDENT A UNITER, NOT A DIVIDER

Ending Spending, in conjunction with the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, the Heritage Foundation and several other organizations, today filed an amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court, supporting the Constitutional challenge of the nearly 2,500 page law called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”).

As all Americans now know, Congress failed to conduct an inquiry into whether the proposed individual mandate that is the centerpiece of the law was even Constitutional. We argue that the “passage of the ACA was made possible by an unseemly mix of trade-offs, arcane legislative maneuvers and politically expedient promises” – and we detail the sordid history of things such infamous earmark known as the “Conhusker Kickback.”

As a result of these numerous procedural irregularities, we believe that the “presumption of constitutionality” that the Supreme Court has traditionally bestowed upon Congressional action is substantially weakened here.

We will be watching as the case progresses in the Supreme Court. Click here to download the full amicus brief (PDF).

I am disappointed that the Senate has failed to pass a permanent earmark ban. We appreciate the efforts by Senators McCaskill and Toomey to end earmarks, and those who stood by them.

The American people are frustrated that their elected officials can’t stop spending their hard-earned tax dollars on boondoggles, such as the Bridge to Nowhere. With the current earmark moratorium expiring at the end of 2012, if Congress does not end this destructive practice once and for all, the earmark favor factory will re-open for business.

To see how your senators voted, follow this link. Then, visit our action center to contact your elected officials. If you disagree with your represenatives, let them know. And if one or more of your senators stood with taxpayers on this important issue, please encourage their continued support of a permanent earmark ban by thanking them.

Last week, Senators Toomey and McCaskill introduced a bill to enact a permanent ban on earmarks, given that the current moratorium is only temporary.

Despite the overwhelming public support for this legislation, only a few brave Senators have agreed to co-sponsor this bill. Ending Spending commends and applauds Senators Ayotte, Burr, Chambliss, DeMint, Johnson, Risch, and Rubio for taking a principled stand to end this destructive practice forever.

The recent report showing that some in Congress are trying to violate the earmark ban demonstrates the importance of these Senators’ efforts.

We continue to encourage every Senator – and particularly every Member of the Senate leadership – to join in this bipartisan effort to protect the American taxpayer from any further wasteful spending.

Contact your Senators now and ask them to support this important legislation.