Democrats delivered for the American people last week, delivering a plan that sets forth a realistic path for reducing our nation’s debt. The plan is not perfect, but does recognize that no plan is perfect. This plan puts the debt on a path to sustainable economic growth, while still reducing debt, and keeping it from growing. And while this plan is not perfect, it is the best we can do right now, given current circumstances and our political dynamic.
Here is the plan, in a bulleted format:
Deficit Reduction Plan
Deficit reduction should begin with a re-evaluation of priorities in the spending side of the budget, with a focus on improving military readiness, improving quality of life, and maintaining our infrastructure. However, the goal of a successful debt agreement should not include the growth of military spending. Instead, a strong national defense will be a critical piece of every agreement that reduces the deficit. We should set national infrastructure priorities, and reduce waste in the federal workplace. And we should seek to reduce the federal government’s budget, which we’ve all agreed is not sustainable.
The United States must prioritize on this plan because the debt is unsustainable, and it is our duty to do something about it. We can continue to put the budget on a path of self-destructive growth, or we can use the debt to fund a plan that allows us to keep our economy strong and our military strong while living within our means.
What the Debt Limits Act does
The debt limit must never be raised
The debt limit is the single most dangerous thing affecting our economy. It is a terrible, dangerous, and irresponsible place for the United States Constitution to place such power. The debt is our responsibility. We can’t just run out of the ability to borrow money, and then blame foreign leaders for our problems. This is not just about foreign countries; it’s about the United States. It is the responsibility of the United States Congress to be the only place that the Constitution sets limits on our borrowing power.
Raising the debt limit is like buying up all the assets the federal government owns, then threatening that the Treasury will default on its obligations unless that money is paid back. We should not be allowing the government