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Recent disagreements over raising the U.S. debt ceiling do bring up a problem with our economy: We can’t keep on spending more than we take in. However, we cannot simply refuse to raise the debt limit now. We can, though, plan for how to start creating a balanced federal budget in years to come.
Unfortunately, some politicians are saying that military spending, the Pentagon, should be the only category that’s off the table. I think it should be the only federal spending that should be on the table. Military spending doesn’t educate our people, provide decent health care, grow more food, help to pay our utility bills or improve our infrastructure. Cutting the Pentagon’s massive budget (it’s more than all other categories of discretionary spending combined) would cause little pain compared to any social spending like energy conservation or school lunches, or entitlements like Medicare or Social Security.
We can also increase government income by ending subsidies for most corporations like the oil companies and increase taxes on millionaires. Let’s address our budget deficit in ways that cause no one to suffer while helping all our people to live productive lives.
Larry Dansinger
Bangor
