The Proposition
| Prop | Version | Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 2 | 2007-01-05 | Manage the ever growing national debt. |
Submitted by - B RubertonWe currently have a national debt that is over $8 trillion and is predicted to grow at $2 trillion to $3 trillion a year if nothing is done to correct it. This deficit could not come at a worse time considering the wave of baby boomers that will soon start to put a strain on the Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security systems. Fiscal responsibility has to be a priority of this and future administrations in order to get a handle on this growing black hole. We are currently mortgaging away our security and our future to China, Japan and other trading partners who are becoming flush with cash while we will struggle to make future interest payments to them. The responsibility for funding Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security lies directly on the federal government and it must provide for these critical social safety nets. It can no longer raid the profits from Social Security for other projects and it must take the painful steps to create a budget that will sustain the future of Medicare. Extravagant giveaways to this nation’s wealthiest citizens and largest corporations need to not only be stopped but be reversed. As we saw in the 90’s with some fiscal restraint the government can run a surplus. This will be more difficult as more people retire from the work force than enter it but the trend must be changed. It is hoped that if more citizens begin to shine some light on these concerns, our elected representatives will find the courage to tackle this ever looming crisis. |
To Be Forwarded To:
| Senator Judd Gregg 393 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 |
| Senator Kent Conrad 530 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 |
The Debate
| Prop | Date | Time | User | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 2006-12-02 | 21:08:29 | PeterB |
| The purging of the middle class and the widening of the wage gap in this country go hand in hand with the growing national debt. It was the huge Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest citizens that restarted the upward trend in the debt after Mr. Clinton had turned it around after many years of spiraling out of control. These cuts will dismantle many social programs causing the poor to get poorer and laying this debt directly on their shoulders and those of their children. This country’s elite should take care not to push the rest of us too far down as to destroy the illusion of success that keeps the workers working. Without the middle class there can be no America. |
| Prop | Date | Time | User | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 2006-11-20 | 18:01:31 | B Ruberton |
| I agree that the growing national debt should be of major concern to U.S. citizens. With more and more employers moving away from traditional pension plans and into volatile 401K plans there is little long term security for the working public. The core income for many lifetime hourly workers will be Social Security with protections from Medicare and Medicaid. The government most provide funding for these plans now and in the future. |
| Prop | Date | Time | User | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 2006-11-18 | 20:46:09 | LeftOfCenter |
| I think an article written by Senator Kent Conrad this past summer sums up the problem very well: “Perhaps worst of all, our nation becomes even more reliant on foreigners to buy our debt and finance our deficits. Last year, the United States was responsible for 65 percent of world borrowing, far and away more than any other nation. We now owe Japan more than $600 billion, China more than $300 billion, England more than $200 billion, and Mexico more than $40 billion. We are now the world's largest debtor nation. It took 42 presidents 224 years to run up a trillion dollars of external debt. Incredibly, this president has more than doubled that amount in just five years.” |
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