Newt Gingrich says the American people are waking up to the massive spending of the Democratic leaders in Washington, D.C., and more and more see the need to work toward balancing the budget before our great country is drowned in a sea of debt:
“The national debt has passed $30 trillion. It is clearly time to start talking about balancing the federal budget.
The explosion of federal debt has been astonishing. In 1980, the national debt was $908 billion. Today, it is more than $30 trillion and growing. That is a more than 3,204% increase in 42 years.
Federal debt has grown much faster than the economy. While the debt has risen more than 3,204%, the gross domestic product (GDP) has only risen from $2.86 trillion to $20.94 trillion – a 633% increase. In 1980, the economy was three times bigger than the national debt. Today, the debt is 50% bigger than the entire economy. This gap is growing each year as government borrows more than the economy grows. A serious recession would rapidly make the debt-to-economy ratio even worse.
The debt has seemed relatively benign because interest rates have been low. However, as the Federal Reserve starts to grapple with the threat of inflation, interest rates will rise. As the largest debtor in the world, the federal government will be hit hard by the rising interest rates. In fact, if interest rates start rising, the federal budget will be severely hit by the growing share that will go just to pay interest on the debt.
The American people intuitively understand how dangerous this growing national debt is. They also understand that allowing politicians unlimited spending encourages waste, corruption and political payoffs.
Even though no major politician has made balancing the budget a key issue, the American people are rapidly shifting toward a belief that the budget should be balanced. A recent poll we sponsored at The American Majority Project, conducted by Mclaughlin & Associates, reported that 70% of Americans favor a constitutional amendment to balance the budget. Only 13% oppose it.
We also found that based on input received in focus groups, “Support for balancing the budget is driven by a belief that it will force Congress to set priorities, solve the root causes of problems, and that it is something that every family and business must do, therefore Congress should do so as well.”
The poll also asked, “If the government actually cut out wasteful spending and corruption, do you think that would be enough to balance the federal budget?” An amazing 58% said “yes” and only 26% said “no.””
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