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At home over the holidays, I heard everyday from Floridians about our troubling state economy. In Florida, we are experiencing a serious insurance crisis; our property tax system is in need of responsible, substantive changes; our local governments face extreme budget shortfalls; and we are staring down a possible recession. Now back in Washington, I hear everyday about our troubling national economy. Our dollar is way down; our national debt is way up; the subprime mortgage market is collapsing; and we are staring down a possible recession. Sound familiar?
In 2001, President Bush took office with an advantage that few presidents have enjoyed: a 10-year budget surplus of $5.6 trillion. On his watch, this surplus has vanished, and in its place, we have record deficits, a rising mountain of debt now exceeding $9 trillion, and a struggling economy. We are facing an economic emergency because of this Administration’s irresponsible and failing economic policies over the last seven years, which have trickled down to our states.
Both the state of Florida and the federal government, at the recommendation of many economic experts, are now considering economic stimulus packages to provide a quick boom to our struggling economy. Yes, we need to target specific needs in our waning economy in the short term, but this must be coupled with long term solutions. Our fiscal and economic problems, both on the state and national levels, cannot be dealt with only in the short term.
As U.S. Comptroller General David Walker said this week in Tallahassee, our fiscal challenges are even worse than advertised over the long term. Walker indicated that without a change of economic and budgetary course, every single household in America will owe $455,000 to finance our country’s liabilities and the promises we have made under the Medicare and Social Security programs.
As a fiscal conservative and budget hawk, I have been talking for years about the need for strict budget controls, such as pay-as-you-go rules and spending caps, and responsible entitlement reform to make the Medicare and Social Security programs solvent for years to come. While most people will agree that these are important efforts, they would rather focus on issues that they consider more pressing, whether it be the war in Iraq, healthcare, or immigration. What they do not see is that all of those serious issues are related to our fiscal situation. We cannot support our country’s priorities if we are flat-out broke.
Restoring our fiscal integrity and strengthening our economy affect everything we do. Comptroller General Walker’s Fiscal Wake-Up Tour stopped in Tallahassee to educate us on this fact and to remind us all that in order to deal with our fiscal challenges we need leadership and forward thinking at the very top: a president who will look at the big budget picture and tackle this problem head on in a bipartisan way.
While the presidential candidates have focused on the short term problems with our economy, none of these candidates to date are talking about ways to deal with our long term fiscal challenges. The solutions will not be easy, but this is a national conversation that we must have if we want our country to remain strong and free. If we do not have a president who is willing to solve our fiscal situation and our economic problems in a bipartisan, responsible, and effective way, then the consequences we are currently facing will become exceedingly worse.
I encourage the people of Florida to heed the warnings of our esteemed Comptroller General and engage our presidential candidates in this debate. The situation may seem bleak, but if we all demand that attention be brought to this cause, then we can bring about a solution that is practical and will most benefit the American people and our great country.
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