Editor's Note: This column was co-authored by Lisa C. McClain.
Current times remind us of the great American patriot and writer, Thomas Paine. Paine was the author of the famous American Revolutionary War pamphlet The Crisis. The writing, publishing, and distribution of The Crisis proved to be invaluable as polls showed one-third of American colonists strongly favored The Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War, one-third were neutral and could go either way and roughly one-third were somewhat against or against breaking away from England. In the December 23, 1776, issue of The Crisis, Paine wrote his now famous words that rallied the majority of colonists to favor the American Revolutionary War and separation from England. His famous words of December 1776 still resonate today, “THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
The women and men who lead our country are facing crises on multiple fronts today in Washington, D.C. Recently, the Senate passed a preliminary $1.2 trillion “infrastructure bill” loaded with excessive government spending, such as:
-$73 billion for electric vehicle charging stations whose location will be determined by the government, rather than the market.
-$50 million per year to combat weeds
-$2 million per year for bee-friendly landscaping
-$25 billion for airports.
-$66 billion for railroads.
-$39 billion for mass transit (all yet to be determined).
-A “mere” $110 billion for roads and bridges (or what we would traditionally call infrastructure).
There is obviously much more pork than we have outlined in the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill with much negotiating left before it is finalized. What is most disappointing is that the U.S. Congressional Budget Office is indicating that this bill, if passed as is, will add more than $250 billion to the U.S. deficit over the next ten years, while the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School’s research indicates it will add more than $300 billion to the deficit.
In addition, the Democratic Party is pushing for what they are currently labeling a $3.5 trillion budget resolution package which, according to the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, has among its yet to be defined content:
-A pathway to citizenship for all illegal immigrants living in the United States.
-Yet to be defined tax hikes on the wealthy and corporations.
-Major expansions in government healthcare.
-Universal preschool
-Free community college and
-Funding for climate change initiatives.
Numerous sources estimate if the bill is passed as currently outlined, the cost will be more like $5.5 trillion over the next 10 years, due to the fact that short-term programs like universal preschool and free community college tuition will become permanent. We believe these factors will drive the cost to at least $5.5 trillion and add upwards of $2 trillion to the U.S. national debt.
Many individuals in this country and abroad are rightly worried about current American economic and military competitiveness and resolve. This loss of confidence will only grow as our national debt expands and the need to further increase taxes on all individuals and corporations greatly diminishes interest in the United States as a wise place to invest. These events will drive up prices for consumers and give the wealthy and businesses reasons to shelter their money and move investments overseas. A weaker American economy is an economy less capable of defending itself and its strategic allies around the world.
Lastly, the U.S. national debt currently stands at $28.652 trillion, which is now $85,975 per capita and $227,474 per taxpayer. The current fiscal year federal budget deficit is almost $3.3 trillion with roughly a month left in the current fiscal year. The U.S. federal debt to GDP ratio is almost 126 percent, dramatically higher than the 34.64 percent ratio when Ronald Reagan became president.
History shows us that many great civilizations have declined or collapsed as they could not resolve their Crisis due to inept handling of the following: a) excessive deficit spending by the federal government, b) loss of control in the economic decision-making process to government rather than the market, and c) the value of money becomes watered-down to the point that it is too late to reverse and alternative currencies are sought. According to The Inflation Calculator, the U.S. dollar today purchases 6.56 percent of what it bought 100 years ago. Our national debt is approaching Third World status; our government is controlling an ever-greater segment of our economy; and America’s economic and military competitiveness is being questioned like never before.
Whether America is in a gradual decline or something more imminent, we must act today to stop and reverse our decline. We are the greatest country with the greatest economy in the history of the world. We have the wherewithal to overcome our problems. To do so, we must be open and honest about what those problems are and take them head on. We must have the resolve to support and defend this country and our allies as well as our American competitive free enterprise system. We must realize America has a government spending problem not a revenue problem, which is the driver of our current fiscal and monetary excesses. In order to reverse our current crises, we must understand, like in 1776, there is no place for “sunshine patriots” in the United States today.
Dr. Timothy G. Nash is director of the McNair Center for the Advancement of Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at Northwood University and Lisa C. McClain is a member of the U.S. Congress from the 10th District of Michigan.
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