Jack Seaman Column: Time To Address Next Debt Ceiling Crisis Is Now

0

Our elected officials in Washington last week passed yet another hike in our nation’s debt ceiling. Actually, it isn’t even a hike, it’s a suspension of it altogether. While some Representatives are touting their “no” vote on the bill, I find no credibility in their voting “no” on a debt ceiling suspension when they voted “yes” for the Ryan-Murray 2014 budget that recently passed, which did nothing to enact meaningful spending reforms we so desperately need, or “yes” for a nearly $1 Trillion Farm Bill.

The debt ceiling deal runs until March 2015. I’m calling for action NOW on avoiding another debt ceiling increase next year. It’s time to stop increasing the debt and start making real, meaningful spending and policy reforms. It’s time now to start shrinking the size, scope and budget of our Federal government. Let’s have engaging debate about changing government as we know it. Let’s talk about things no one seems to want to talk about in Washington. That is what it’s going to take to get things turned around, not waiting until the deadline of another increase is at hand, when another “kick the can down the road” increase is all D.C. can come up with.

I have many positions and opinions on ways to reduce our spending and start paying down the national debt now, so our children and grandchildren won’t get stuck with the bill, or get stuck with a collapsed economy, which certainly will come if we don’t fix it.

I support greatly reducing our military budget by reducing our worldwide bases and military presence, reducing our foreign aid budget, reforming and making Social Security optional for younger people, block granting Medicare and Medicaid dollars to the States, ending the IRS and replacing all taxes with the FairTax, ending all government business subsidies and bailouts, and ending the costly and failed War on Drugs. I want to stress that all of this can be done before we take one dollar out of programs to help the needy and poor in this country.

Yes, our welfare system needs an overhaul but let’s clean up other areas first. Finally, the most important change we could make to the financial health of our country is to audit and END the Federal Reserve System and restore a sound money policy. Having a private banking cartel with the power to control our currency has to end if we want true economic freedom.

Some of you reading this may think it’s radical. I propose that nothing is more radical than our country being $17.3 Trillion in debt with a dollar that’s being systematically devalued, leaving future generations to deal with mistakes that we refused to.