For years, politicians have spent money we don’t have, borrowed from our children’s future, and told us not to worry. But that spending frenzy isn’t cost-free.
Eventually, Congress’ refusal to spend responsibly harms everyday Americans in the form of higher taxes, a sluggish economy, or rampant inflation.
Every month, you make tough choices to stay within your budget. You tighten the belt to pay for groceries, gas, mortgage, and taxes. You live within your means because you have to.
Washington doesn’t follow the same rule, which puts your prosperity at risk.
As Americans for Prosperity’s fiscal policy senior fellow, Kurt Couchman, writes: “As debt surges, so does the risk of fiscal collapse.”
Like you, the federal government needs to keep track of how much money it has and how much it spends.
That’s called a budget. And after Washington does the math, there are only three possible outcomes:
It shouldn’t surprise you which one the federal government has gotten the most comfortable with.
Just take a look at the last fiscal year, when Washington spent $6.75 trillion and only collected $4.92 trillion.
Since 2001, Washington has run a budget deficit every year.
When you spend more than you make, you go into debt to make up the difference.
The same logic applies to the federal government, and Washington has racked up quite a tab.
Today, the federal government owes over $38 trillion in debt, over $111,000 per person in America.
Washington already pays over 14% of our tax money to pay the interest on our debt, and that figure is expected to rise.
To put this into context, last year, the federal government spent more on this interest than on all defense spending.
If Congress doesn’t tackle this problem, it will use more and more of our tax money just to pay the debt.
What’s more, if we don’t control the debt, some politicians might be tempted to turn on the money printing machine to keep us from defaulting, creating rampant inflation in the process.
One way is to make more money. The ideal way to do this is by implementing pro-freedom policies that grow the economy.
Unfortunately, many politicians would rather squeeze more taxes out of you than grow the economy.
Another way is for the government to cut unnecessary government expenses, start paying off the national debt, and put America back on track.
Obviously, if we combine policies — grow the economy while we slash spending — America can recover faster from the brink of fiscal mayhem.
And one of the best ways to get Congress to spend less is through a balanced budget amendment.
Watch Kurt Couchman explain how this idea can restore fiscal sanity to America.
Just as a balanced budget is the cornerstone of a stable economy, unbalanced budgets are a sure way to economic disaster.
Here are just two examples of countries that didn’t fix their budgets and paid dearly:
Greece in the 2010s: Years of overspending and borrowing caught up with the country after the global financial crash, as it didn’t have the money to pay its debts. The Greek people paid for years of fiscal indiscipline with higher taxes, a sluggish economy, fewer benefits, and more unemployment.
Argentina has repeated this cycle for decades. Chronic deficits and money printing fueled economic collapses, most infamously in 2001. Banks froze accounts, inflation wiped out savings, and millions fell into poverty.
Thankfully, the American economy is more robust and more prosperous than those of Argentina and Greece.
However, decades of bad decisions from Washington politicians are putting your future at risk, threatening Americans to pay the price through some combination of higher taxes, a slow economy, and runaway inflation.
We can’t allow that to happen.
That’s why at Americans for Prosperity, we launched the “Make Government Work” campaign, a nationwide effort to get responsible government back into Washington and ensure a prosperous future for all Americans.
We also have some good ideas to get America out of this cycle of dysfunction.
Our senior government affairs liaison, Will Burger, lays out the case for some policies that will restore sanity and normalcy to the federal government.
Join us in our fight to make government work for the American people.
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