Ignoring The Debt Problem

Here is an op-ed piece in The New York Times co-authored by former chairman of the Federal (sic) Reserve System Paul Volcker:

Together, the two of us have 179 years of life experience and 13 grandchildren. We have served presidents of both parties. We have seen more campaign seasons than we care to count — but none as strange as this one.

Insults, invective and pandering have been poor substitutes for serious debate about the direction in which this country is going — or should be going. And a sound and sustainable fiscal structure is a key ingredient of any viable economic policy.

Yes, this country can handle the nearly $600 billion federal deficit estimated for 2016. But the deficit has grown sharply this year, and will keep the national debt at about 75 percent of the gross domestic product, a ratio not seen since 1950, after the budget ballooned during World War II.

Long-term, that continued growth, driven by our tax and spending policies, will create the most significant fiscal challenge facing our country. The widely respected Congressional Budget Office has estimated that by midcentury our debt will rise to 140 percent of G.D.P., far above that in any previous era, even in times of war.

Unfortunately, despite a brief discussion during the final presidential debate, neither candidate has put forward a convincing plan to restrain the growth of the national debt in the decades to come.

You can read the rest @
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/22/opinion/ignoring-the-debt-problem.html

Take note that the authors said nothing directly about runaway military spending or what our undeclared wars have done to our economy. Instead they focus on cutting away our social safety net.

This does not bode well for our future. Hillary and her corporate supporters will be making "hard choices" for us - ones that enrich them while impoverishing us.

The weirdest part of this is that you will probably thank them for starving you and destroying our nation's future. You certainly haven't held anyone accountable yet, so why expect you will start with them?