OPINION:
The federal debt will be $30 trillion within the year. Just a few months ago, we were warning that the debt was more than $23 trillion and heading toward $30 trillion by 2025. That was before the coronavirus crisis hit.
According to the U.S. Debt Clock, the debt has now surpassed $24 trillion already. On top of that, projections from the Congressional Budget Office have the budget deficit exceeding $1 trillion in 2020. Now, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) will spend more than $2 trillion. And the actions of the Federal Reserve in response to the coronavirus crisis add up to some $4 trillion, according to the director of the National Economic Council, Larry Kudlow.
Add it all up and the numbers don’t lie. The national debt will be more than $30 trillion this year.
Sadly, this isn’t a new problem. And it isn’t solely partisan either.
When George W. Bush was president, the federal debt went from $5 trillion to $10 trillion. When Barack Obama was president, the federal debt went from $10 trillion to $19.6 trillion. Now, it’s over $24 trillion and heading toward $30 trillion this year.
The current debt of $24.2 trillion amounts to $73,519 for every person in America or $188,380 per household. The debt today is 111 percent of the entire economy (Gross Domestic Product as of the end of 2019). Or put another way, the debt is more than six and a half times the total of all the revenue that comes into the federal government annually.
On a personal level, it would be like an individual making about $36,000 a year carrying $242,000 worth of debt. They would be borrowing money just to pay their interest payments and continuing to spend more each year than they actually earn.
If that was a family member or friend, we would have an intervention. The federal government needs an intervention. It needs a balanced budget amendment.
Every state in America but one has some sort of a requirement in their state constitution for a balanced budget. Local governments have to maintain balanced budgets. Small businesses and other employers have to balance their books. Families and individuals all across the country must balance their budgets. So why can’t the federal government?
In the past, there was federal legislation called Gramm/Rodman/Hollings that helped rein in spending. Later, there was a period where the states worked with the federal government on welfare reform and the savings helped balance the budget. There were other attempts too, like sequestration.
The common flaw with these well-intentioned ideas is that they were not in the U.S. Constitution. No Congress is bound by the actions of the past. Each Congress can pass its own laws. In contrast, an amendment to the Constitution may only be changed by another amendment to the Constitution.
Understandably, the process for approving an amendment is not easy. The Founders laid out two ways. One version requires two-thirds of both houses of Congress to approve a resolution. Then, three-quarters of the states must vote to ratify the language before it officially becomes part of the Constitution.
In the 1980s, the Senate passed a balanced budget amendment resolution but it failed in the House of Representatives. In the 1990s, a resolution passed in the House but not in the Senate.
The other version bypasses Congress and turns to the states. If two-thirds of the states vote to apply, a convention of all 50 states is held on the issue identified by the resolutions passed by the states. Once language is approved, three-quarters of the states must vote to ratify the amendment.
It is increasingly unlikely that the Washington-based politicians will ever deal with the national debt and deficit problems or that they will ever muster up the two-thirds needed to move forward language for a Balanced Budget Amendment. With that in mind, our focus is on the states.
Over the past year, I have been working with a national campaign to enact a balanced budget amendment. So far, 28 states have current resolutions. We need 34.
Prior to the coronavirus crisis, we were on track for South Carolina to be the 29th state. Once passed there, we were hoping for success in Idaho, Kentucky and Montana. The next options were Minnesota and Virginia.
Historically, the measure has enjoyed bipartisan support as many lawmakers understand even programs like Social Security could feel the impact if the debt continues to grow out of control. Also, studies show the negative impact on the economy of carrying this high a percentage of debt.
Once we win the war against the coronavirus and reopen the American economy, we must take on the debt crisis in this country. And the states must lead. We need a balanced budget amendment — before it’s too late.
• Scott Walker was the 45th governor of Wisconsin. You can contact him at swalker@washingtontimes.com or follow him @ScottWalker.
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