America's gravest problem is the national debt. Here's why: It's more than $16 trillion, rising more than a trillion a year. It will worsen as, inevitably, the ratio of taxpaying workers to benefit recipients will shrink.
We can afford this borrowing for now only because interest rates are at historic lows. But as our debt balloons and repayment grows doubtful, countries like China won't keep lending us money at near-zero percent interest rates. When those rates rise, as they must, our financial hole will grow far deeper.
This is what happened to Greece. We'll be bankrupt, unable to afford Medicare or any of those social programs Democrats keep vowing to protect. Our whole economy will be wrecked.
Taxing the rich more can't even begin to solve this problem. What we need is a "grand bargain" between the parties, with big compromises to reduce spending and enhance revenues. The Simpson-Bowles Commission offered exactly this but, tragically, President Barack Obama turned his back on it. Now he claims to be proposing $4 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years. But most of that is money that would never have been spent anyway.
It's true Republicans have been stubborn on taxes. But while Obama's 2008 campaign talked of ending partisan divisiveness, he never walked the walk. It's obvious that this President can't get a bipartisan agreement. Our only hope is to start fresh with a new one from a different party.
Decent economic growth would also help, creating more jobs and tax revenue. The World Economic Forum says American competitiveness has fallen in each of the last four years. But Democrats never seem to grasp that, for high employment, you need businesses to be successful, competitive and, yes, profitable — even if that requires outsourcing. Otherwise they cannot stay in business and employ any Americans at all.
Obama has no economic plan for the next four years except to continue the same fruitless battles he's failed to win over the last four.
Is that a good plan for America?
FRANK S. ROBINSON
Albany