Len Britton Op-Ed

from Len Britton to the Fairfax News........

Congress is Digging an Economic Hole

My recent-released TV commercial depicts a family's joy after receiving what they believe is a grand prize check from a sweepstakes. Celebration quickly turns to shock when they realize the over-sized check they're being presented is actually an invoice for their share of the national debt: $168,000. The young boy exclaims, “that’s a lot of money, mister!” The federal agent glibly replies, “Better get a paper route, Billy.”

Our national debt is out of control. It needs to be dealt with or we will be chaining an economic millstone around the necks of our children. Washington has never been particularly bashful about throwing around taxpayer's money. The Bush administration started down a path of reckless spending which has been put through the budgetary super-collider chamber provided by Obama and the current Congress. They are digging an economic hole all the way to China and it has to stop. The national debt is at $42,000 for every man, woman, and child in the country. And this does NOT include the unfunded mandates of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security - or the recently passed health care bill. If you want to see something truly jaw-dropping, go to the National Debt Clock website and watch the red ink spin.

The current sovereign debt crisis in Greece should be a loud wake-up call to all those who think we can continue kicking our own national debt can down the road. The Greeks have been spending around 13% of their GDP on debt payments. We're at 9% in this country and heading higher fast. Moody's Investors Service projects that the debt service could reach over 22% of GDP by 2013. Imagine if you were spending nearly a quarter of your take-home pay each month for minimum payments on your credit card. It wouldn't leave much for other spending needs. The federal government is going to be facing the same piper if we don't change our ways.

So what do we do? For starters, stop digging the hole. Federal discretionary spending has increased 74% faster than inflation since 2001 as a result of large defense and domestic hikes. Freeze federal budgetary increases to the rate of inflation. Begin the process of rolling back spending on federal programs. In the 1980's and 90's we spent roughly $21,000 per household to fund our government. We are currently spending around $34,000. According to the Heritage Foundation, if we returned to pre-2001 levels of funding, we could have a balanced budget by 2012. That's a start.

Billions could also be saved by eliminating corporate welfare, all federal programs that fail to accomplish their mission, program overpayments, redundant programs, and earmarks (pork). Implementing these measures would put America on the path towards fiscal responsibility.

But I'm afraid the incumbent congress does not have the political will for such difficult changes. They are part of the problem, not the solution. The entrenched political class residing in Washington is awash in special interest money which deadens their appetite to challenge the status quo. Congress can't even cut their own operating budget, raising it over 25% since the economic downturn began. How many Vermont households have increased their own spending like that recently?

If we are going to return financial sanity to Washington we need to change the players, and elect outsiders charged with the duty of securing a proper economic future for our children.

Len Britton is a candidate for the United States Senate and lives in South Pomfret.