There’s a good case to be made that we live in one of the most polarized political environments in our country’s history. And yet, when it comes to our nation’s fiscal condition, we’re seeing unprecedented agreement on one point: our spending policies are bankrupting America.
The current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – America’s highest ranking military officer and principal military adviser to the President — says, “Our national debt is our biggest national security threat.”
Republican Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, recently told the Economic Club of Chicago that our spending “trajectory is catastrophic.”
Erskine Bowles, former White House chief of staff under President Clinton and the chair of President Obama’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, has warned that we are about to enter “the most predictable economic crisis in history.”
Three different people, with three different backgrounds and responsibilities — all of whom are warning America about the severity of our nation’s debt crisis.
It is clear that things cannot stay the same as they are today. America’s current “lifestyle” is not sustainable so everything must be on the table, priorities established, and consensus reached. Here at Ending Spending, we believe that the problems must be accurately identified before they can be fully understood and solved. We also welcome the breadth of solutions that various leaders and organizations have put forward; every conversation about a potential solution increases our awareness of the problem and brings our country one step closer to regaining its fiscal sanity.
Decline is antithetical to the American Idea — and yet, if we are not careful, that is exactly what will be witnessing: an American decline.
The Problem: An Honest Assessment of the Facts
Crunching some numbers within the 2012 budget proposed by the Obama Administration, the Ending Spending team made a shocking discovery that makes this problem very real to each of us: If American families and small businesses operated their budgets as irresponsibly as Washington does, it would equate to a family making $50,000 per year, spending $86,000 per year, while already having accumulated a credit card debt of $320,000. It’s not sustainable.
Need more evidence?
The helpful charts featured on this page, from the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, illustrate the problems of today and tomorrow.
The Solution
There are many groups that have spent significant time and energy over the past months researching the facts and looking for solutions. Some of the solutions that have been produced can be found in Resources – Proposals, Reports, Analysis, & Organizations
We want the Ending Spending community to be a forum of solutions. We’ve seen solutions from the left, from the right, from bipartisan coalitions, from Members of Congress and from President Obama. We want to hear from you. What do you think is the best plan? Or, what might the best plan look like? Regardless of which plan you support, the only solution that we know will work is for you to make your voice heard. Read the proposals and visit our action center. Tell your Representative and Senators you want to end… spending.