U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, a Republican, represents Idaho's 2nd Congressional District.
By MIKE SIMPSON
The national debt is a problem that many in government would prefer to skip over, put off, or ignore completely. Throughout the years, when the economy is sound or booming, we forget about the debt. Conversely, when the economy is down we often increase the debt in efforts to revive it. Either way, the debt grows. Unfortunately, the economy currently needs revival, and the only solution coming from the Democratic majority in Congress and the Obama administration is to add historic and unprecedented levels of debt onto our already enormous total.
Let's put things in perspective. Ronald Reagan once suggested that if you imagine a crisp, new stack of $1,000 bills, you would need that stack to be 4 inches high to be a millionaire. To have $1 trillion, the stack would need to be more than 63 miles high, reaching into outer space. Our current debt level now stands at more than $11 trillion.
It is also startling to look at the debt from a historical perspective. In the early 1980s, the debt first reached the $1 trillion level. Since then, we have tacked $10 trillion more on top, including a deficit of nearly $2 trillion this year alone. President Obama's budget proposal, supported by many Congressional Democrats, will create at least $9.3 trillion more in deficits in the next 10 years. It would be an explosion of debt unlike any we have ever seen. The interest costs alone stand at hundreds of millions of dollars, money that could be devoted to much more constructive causes. This kind of spending, in any economic situation, is simply irresponsible, especially at a time when American families are making sacrifices to balance their own budgets.
Like small businesses and working families across this country, it is time for lawmakers in Congress to make some rational and difficult budgetary decisions. Faced with economic challenges, families tighten their belts and cut their everyday costs to cope with shortages. Most of us have had to do this at some point in our lives. We put our big purchases on hold, eat cheaper home meals rather than dining at restaurants, conserve water and heat to cut down on bills and carpool or use public transportation to reduce fuel costs. Using self-control today means avoiding bankruptcy tomorrow. The federal government should follow these same common-sense principles when creating its own budget. That means examining the effectiveness of government programs and cutting out wasteful and ineffective spending while supporting vital services.
This week, the House of Representatives debated and formulated its own version of the budget for the fiscal year 2010. I continually urged my colleagues to resist taking the easy way out by raising taxes rather than addressing our out-of-control spending problems. As the process continues to unfold over the next several weeks, we must make those tough decisions to produce a budget that will not continue to place a burden on our children and grandchildren.
Part of this means producing a balanced budget every year, just like the state of Idaho and every other state must do. I am an original cosponsor of H.J. Res. 1, a resolution that proposes a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. This would require that the president offer a balanced budget to Congress every year and would state that any federal spending beyond debt repayment that exceeds revenues would need to be authorized by a three-fifths vote in Congress.
Getting our economic house in order means balancing our books. This is a lot more complex and difficult than sound bites from the media or political parties might make it seem. As a member of the Budget Committee, I am in a unique position to influence the process, and I hope that Republicans and Democrats can cast aside political differences and work together to craft a tough, responsible budget.
