Journal Review - Rokita Outlines National Debt Issues

News Article

By John Dykstra

The growing national debt has instilled fear in many Americans, and possible solutions to the debt are not necessarily clear-cut.

U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita spoke to the Crawfordsville Rotary Club Wednesday afternoon at the Quality Inn about the growing national debt. He provided detailed statistics and potential solutions to the growing debt problem.

"Our children will be responsible for paying off our national debt and that is the crux of the problem. That is the issue that stands before us," Rokita said. "To what extent is that American? To what extent is that moral? We have to decide that. If we are not talking politics, if we do not get out of our comfort zone, we are going to lose our country."

Rokita identified two primary contributors to the national debt. One was the owners of our debt and the other was mandatory spending.

"This is not a party issue, it is cultural," Rokita said. "Every administration back to John Kennedy has given up this debt. We as Americans are responsible. Every year now, 42 cents of every dollar is borrowed. So, we are running structural deficits to fund regular operations. It is more than Iraq and Afghanistan that is causing our debt. It's us. We are our biggest problem."

Rokita compared the United States' current economy to its economy during World War II, which was the last time the national debt equaled 100 percent of the country's gross domestic product.

"The difference between now and World War II is we paid for World War II," Rokita said. "Remember the war bond posters? We financed our government to take on the war. Now, other countries own our debt. About half of that debt is owned by several countries who do not have our best interests. They have their own interests. Also, World War II was a one-time event, whereas mandatory government programs have continued to increase the debt."

Mandatory spending for Medicaid, Medicare, net interest, social security, and more accounted for 62 percent of last year's federal government spending. Discretionary spending, which Rokita has a say in, composed the other 38 percent.

"We have a voice in only 38 percent of federal government spending," Rokita said, "and that is why I say that the drivers of our debt are in these programs that are on autopilot and cannot be changed."

Rokita provided five possible solutions to countering the national debt problem. The solutions included reforming Medicare, Medicaid, social security, and the budget process and preventing the government from interfering with free markets and the people.

Above all, he suggested reforming Medicare from a "defined benefit, fee-for-service structure" to a "contribution structure." In addition, he supported the idea of gradually increasing the age limit for receiving social security.

"Social security was a great deal for Franklin Roosevelt," Rokita said. "When he introduced social security, people had to pay for social security until they were 65.
Most Americans died by the time they were 58 back then. So, Roosevelt used social security like an insurance policy. Our life expectancy rate has increased. So, I suggest we raise the age for receiving social security. We can do that gradually by increasing the age two months per year."

Members of the Rotary Club found Rokita's speech compelling.

"It was very interesting," member Dick Walker said. "He talked about the budget, and I think everybody realizes this is a problem, but he explained it in a lot more detail. The debt is a big problem with no easy answers."

Rokita asked the Rotary Club members to relay information regarding the national debt to others.

"It is leadership that is going to be able to save this republic, if it is going to be saved from this debt burden," Rokita said. "So, I asked the Rotarians to take the data I was giving them, to step out of their comfort zone, and to have a discussion at the dinner table, to have it at the lunch table, to have it at church, to have it at the fence post because we are Americans.

"I believe that once people are informed, they will not stand for what is happening," he continued. "And what is happening right now is we are leaving future generations with less economic and civic liberty because we are putting more on our social plate in terms of Medicaid, Medicare, and social security, and we intend to make those who do not exist yet pay for it. I questioned whether that was American, and I questioned whether it was moral. In my opinion, it is neither."

Source