National Debt :: Economy Economics Argumentative Papers

National Debt The national debt is an issue of great concern to the economy. Each year, the debt amounts to a higher percentage of GDP. As we have studied, the debt weighs down the economy, and the interest payments are consuming an ever larger share of the national budget. Something must be done to avert this crisis from coming to a head. We need to begin today, by making spending cuts ACROSS THE BOARD. These cuts must be enacted sensitively, however, in order to keep the economy stable as we move toward a balanced budget. The need for spending cuts across the board cannot be understated. For just one example of how imbalanced our policies are, notice how 63% of all entitlements go to retirees. 93% of these are NON-MEANS-TESTED. Federal spending on the 65 and over age group is 11 times greater than on the 18 and under age group.^1 We must pay off the debt, but the current Republican plan should be votoed. First of all, it leaves welfare for the well-to-do, Social Security, and defense off the table. In fact, the current plan calls for a $34,000,000,000 increase in defense spending.^2 (Doesn't the military have the discipline to learn to be more cost-effective?) At the same time, the Republicans are calling for a $245,000,000,000 tax cut. Their plan is supposed to restrict the growth of Medicare. This is a good start, but they have no definite plans on how to restrict it. Basically, the Republican plan aims to balance the budget entirely at the expense of the young (for whom we are trying to balance the budget), the environment that they will inherit, the poor, and the weak, while sparing the rich, thealready-by-far most powerful military in the world, the elderly (the ones who accrued most of this debt for us),