Government Finances

Last Updated 25 November 2000

A vision for our nation is:

A debt-free USA federal government by 2020.

Actions we should take include:

Pay off the accumulated federal debt between fiscal years 2001 and 2020.

Report totally honest federal budgets, comparing tax receipts with expenditures and incurred obligations. - no “off-budget” items; no borrowing from trust funds.

The overall approach is:

Nothing less than the financial health of our government and of our nation is at stake. Without that health, our financial and political freedoms will erode. Most importantly, the freedoms and quality of life of our grandchildren, children, and own later lives will be at risk.

Our continuing acceptance of such a debt allows, and perhaps even encourages, our elected representatives to be irresponsible in funding government “programs”. An honestly-balanced budget imposes discipline on our elected officials and their appointees.

Our expectations of what our government can accomplish, and how it operates, must change. Congress and the President should commit to the reasonable constraint of a budget that is honestly balanced. Then, the Legislative branch must prioritize what our government should and can do, and do no more than that.

What should be cut from the federal budget? That question looks at the situation the wrong way. We need to rethink how government operates as a whole. Improvements in our nation’s condition, and in our government’s operation, depend on much more than just the size of the federal budget. A leaner, effectively-focused government should actually accomplish more for less.

In addition to all of this, it is most likely that the current federal debt results in a massive transfer of money upwards in our society. Everyone but the poorest pay federal income taxes, but only those with some spare money to save and invest can afford to own the bonds that comprise the federal debt. Thus, many people who have less money pay much of it to those who have more. (If anyone can provide supporting or refuting evidence, I would like to see it. Please email me at mike@mikeforster.net.)