Coon Rapids Herald

May 8th, 2009

http://abcnewspapers.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7241&Itemid=95

To The Editor:

April 26 marked a dubious date for the federal government, one that you may not hear much about: “Debt Day.”

Debt Day is the day during the fiscal year, which begins on Oct. 1, on which government spending exceeds total revenues.  In short, about halfway through the fiscal year, Washington has run out of money.

This year, Debt Day came over three months earlier than last year. Of course, the sooner this day comes, the more deficit spending the government will accrue. The bottom line is more debt being passed on to our children and grandchildren.

Think about this from your family’s perspective.  If your entire income for the year was paid out in the first six months of the year, would you spend it all during that first half of the year and charge the rest of the year’s spending on a credit card? Would your family simply borrow more money to pay off debt?  

I don’t know of too many families who would take that approach – and neither should the government. 

Unfortunately, the government is not operating in the way families in the 3rd District and across the country are during these difficult economic times.   Instead, the government is on a spending binge.

The stimulus package that passed in February increased the national debt by $1 trillion. A $400 billion omnibus spending bill loaded with over 9,000 earmarks was approved shortly thereafter.  Additionally, Congress recently passed a budget that spends and borrows record amounts – further plunging our nation into debt.

Here are a few sobering facts:

• By 2012, the United States will be paying $1 billion per day in net interest just to finance our debt.
• The president’s budget will result in $9.3 trillion in deficits over the next ten years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
• When I was born, my share of the national debt was $1,500. Today, each of my four girls owe $35,000 as their share – and that number will double in just eight years.

These statistics clearly demonstrate that without major changes, our nation is on a fast track to bankruptcy.

In the same way working families have to budget their expenses based on their income, the federal government needs to get its fiscal house in order by living within its means. 

We cannot borrow and spend our way into prosperity, nor can we be content with passing along trillions of debt to our children and grandchildren. 

It’s time to return to fiscal responsibility in Washington, and rest assured I will be fighting for that each and every day that I represent you in Congress.

Congressman Erik Paulsen