Issue Position: The National Debt

Issue Position

Facing Reality: Reducing the Debt Is the Issue

The number one problem that should be on the mind of every voter in Northern Virginia is the budget deficit and the growing national debt. The amount of debt that has been added by Bush and Obama, by the Democrats and Republicans in Congress in just the last 4 years is equivalent to $52,628 per household.

The interest paid on the outstanding federal debt in FY2011 was $454 billion or 42% of the $1,091 billion collected in individual income tax for that year. This is with interest rates a record lows created by Federal Reserve interventions and investor flight to safety from the Euro and into the dollar. What happens when interest rates to more normal levels, which is more than double today's rates?

Deficit reduction proposals from both major parties do not reduce the debt, but rather add trillions to it over the next ten years. And all rely on overly optimistic economic forecasts that doom them to failure. Yet, even the proposed cuts to the federal budget will have a negative impact on the local economy and jobs.

The reality is that the party is over and it is time to pay the bill. The question is: Do we, like Greece, balance the budget mainly through austerity measures, slashing the federal budget in a way that will imperil Northern Virginia's economy, destroy jobs and, once again, place the burden squarely on the shoulders of the worker? Or do we take a more measured, rational and equitable approach?

Source