I tried to give up my role as a teacher (also that of a proselytizer), several years ago, but there are those agitators out there who will not honor my wishes so I can live out my days in peace. So, here I go again. If you find my words disturbing, think of how irritated I must feel because of the circumstances that gave rise to my having to clear the air of all the mis-information and lies that are polluting the airwaves.  

 

The first rule of problem solving is this:  If you want to fix a problem, first you must understand the problem. Second, if you are part or most of the problem, then it’s up to people like me to expose you and your troubling ways.  That is the situation I find today about our federal debt issues, and I am here to save the day—and call some of you out. But I am going one step further by shining light on the truth, and by illuminating best options for fixing the real problems we face.

 

The “you” in my opening barrage is anyone who does not understand the facts behind our economic problems, and who nevertheless wants—knowingly or unknowingly—to make matters worse by injecting a lot of false assertions,  absurd analyses, and harmful conclusions into the discussion. So first, let’s separate facts from fiction, and then identify the troublemakers who keep dumping dirt into the conversation and then insist on stirring it.

 

Fact Set #1: The United States does not have a debt crisis. Repeating that lie one million times does not make it true .   Our public debt is $11.6 trillion, or about 78 percent of our GDP. We pay $223 billion per year in interest on that debt, or about 6 percent of our federal budget.   It costs nothing to borrow additional dollars today because the very low interest rates are offset by inflation, making the true cost of borrowing zero.  The overwhelming majority of Americans pay considerably more than 6 percent of their income in interest, and no one has the certainty of an income stream like the U.S. government enjoys. And we would all love to be able to borrow money at zero interest cost.

 

As to the “crushing” burden of our public debt today, it was considerably higher as a percentage of our GDP following WWII, yet we did not take emergency measures to reduce it. We merely grew the economy at a real average annual rate of 2.28 percent between 1945 and 1970. From 1970 up to 2012 that average growth rate has fallen to 1.26 percent. That is also the same time period when we ran up 95 percent of our debt.   If we had maintained the same growth rate of 2.28 percent, our GDP would be 53 percent higher today, or $8 trillion more.   Our public debt would be considerably lower, and we would not likely have long-term funding problems with Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, or most other programs.

 

Conclusion Set #1. Let’s agree on this reality: Growing the economy should and must be our highest economic priority. A growing economy not only “raises all boats,” it also provides the revenues for paying down our debt, and for shoring up funding for needed programs that help people. If you disagree with any of that, at least make your counter argument from facts; not from ideology, or assertions, or from “made up” stuff.

 

Fact Set #2: The economy during the Clinton administration was the best in our history.   Both our budget deficits and trade deficits fell, defense spending fell, 23 million new jobs were created, unemployment fell to 3.9 percent, stock and home values soared, and we created 4 consecutive budget surpluses.   Any rational, well-intentioned person, therefore, would at least want to examine “what went right?” during those years, and “how can we capture those activities that produced those golden years and make them happen again today?”

 

The three key factors behind those golden years were: 1. We realized a “peace dividend” from the fall of the Soviet Union.   Our defense budget fell each year as a percentage of our total budget. We closed military bases here and around the world at huge cost savings.   2. Congress imposed a “pay go” restriction on every bill that involved money expenditures.    All such bills had to show where the money would be coming from in order for it to pass.   This restriction proved to be easier to pass and to follow than a Constitutional amendment calling for a balanced budget.   3.   We did not get involved in any new major military ventures around the world. By and large, we minded our own affairs and let others do the same.

 

Conclusion Set #2: We can realize a new peace dividend by getting out of and staying out of Afghanistan and Iraq. Our participation in Libya came with zero casualties and at zero cost (we still hold $38 billion of Gadhafi’s assets). Libya could serve as a model of how we can help others without sacrificing American lives and fortunes. Reinstate the “pay go” feature to all money bills.   Invest and encourage private investment in new fuels and more fuel efficient engines. That would help to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, the biggest chunk of our trade deficit, and a huge drag on our economy.

 

Fact Set #3.  Debt Ceiling. Congress, alone, passes laws that obligate the U.S. government to pay for various programs, and for paying interest on our borrowing. The President is obligated to carry out those laws. He has no authority to create those programs.

 

It is a contradiction for Congress to pass laws, then refuse to authorize the money with which to pay for them, and a further contradiction of logic to blame the President for the impasse; and an obscene insult to all Americans to demand cuts in other programs that did not add one penny to the debt before they will raise the debt ceiling. Moreover, yielding to such demands by agreeing to change those or different laws is caving in to hostage takers. It is an outrage that requires prompt and urgent action to stop now and forever.

 

Conclusion Set #3. We must take away the ability of Congress to hold Americans hostage by refusing to raise the debt ceiling on their own programs that require payments. These circumstances can be solved in a number of ways. First, the President can refuse to negotiate with the hostage takers, and issue an emergency Executive Order that raises the debt ceiling under Article II and Amendment XIV.   He could then call an emergency session of Congress for the purpose of solving their own artificially created crisis. We could also make this form of hostage taking a “high crime and misdemeanor” punishable by life imprisonment.

 

Too many ideologues spend too much time trying to manipulate the laws and procedures to get themselves elected to public office, then to remain in office, where they pursue a narrow religious agenda, coupled with a narrow fiscal agenda, while not caring about the consequences of how their actions can and will deny others the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.   These people are a greater danger to all of us than are all the foreign tyrants outside our shores—combined.   We know the outsiders by name, but we tend to trust the inside tyrants we elect.   So we are not blameless in this on-going battle.