Pence Op-Ed: "On Debt Day, With Regret"

Op-Ed

PENCE OP-ED: "ON DEBT DAY, WITH REGRET"

Published in Muncie Star Press on Sunday

The following op-ed, written by Congressman Pence, was published in Sunday's Muncie Star Press:

Today, April 26, is Debt Day for this fiscal year. That is, today is the day the federal government's expenses exceed its revenue for that year.

What this means in the near term is that all of the money spent from Washington for the rest of this year will be borrowed money -- either from other countries or from future generations of Americans. In the long term this means we are saddling our children and their children with crippling debt that will lower their standard of living and impede their future productivity.

Indiana is in the midst of extremely difficult times -- the most recent data shows 10 percent unemployment, and in my district that number can get as high as 14.8 percent -- and one would be hard-pressed to find a Hoosier who has not been personally affected by this recession.

Families, small businesses and family farms alike are making the painful decision to cut spending and put off until tomorrow what they cannot afford to spend today.

As retirement accounts dwindle and gloomy economic forecasts loom on the horizon, we should expect our federal government to lead by example.

Sadly, the unprecedented spending binge this new administration has embarked on is a far cry from the fiscal discipline and leadership that our nation needs.

The stimulus package that passed in February increased our national debt by $1 trillion, in spite of an alternative that would have provided twice as many jobs at half the cost. Shortly after the stimulus, Democrats in Congress forced through a $400 billion omnibus spending bill complete with an 8.3 percent increase in spending -- $32 billion, not including funds from the stimulus -- and nearly 9,000 unexamined earmarks. In the midst of national struggle, the last thing Hoosiers want to see is business as usual in Washington, D.C. And, neither do I.

Most recently, the House of Representatives passed a $3.55 trillion Democrat budget that would double the national debt in five years and triple it in 10 -- racking up deficits of nearly a trillion dollars a year for the next 10 years. This irresponsible budget will raise the public debt to $11.577 trillion in 2014, which would be 67 percent of GDP. Quite simply, the budget priorities of this new administration and the majority in Congress borrow too much.

As most Hoosiers know and common sense dictates, we as a nation cannot borrow and spend our way back to prosperity. The path to our economic recovery may begin with the sacrifice and tough choices currently being made in our small businesses, around the kitchen table or on the farm, but it must not end there; Washington must follow suit. Our federal government's budget should reflect the restraint and priorities of our families' budgets -- not run up a mountain of debt for our children and grandchildren.

For nearly two centuries, Hoosiers have worked hard so their children could have better lives and greater opportunity. Principle demands that we not reverse this order by punting on the tough choices and thereby force our posterity to foot the bill for this generation's reckless spending.

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