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The National Debt

The President just sent Congress his budget proposal for the coming year. The deficit spending in this budget will raise our national debt to OVER 9 TRILLION DOLLARS!

Our government has spent more than it has taken in for 31 out of the past 35 years, through administrations and congresses dominated by both parties. It may seem like an overused word, but frankly this irresponsible pattern has to CHANGE!

I believe that our out of control national debt may be the most formidable issue of our time. Yet, with my dedication to the children of this district and our nation, it is one that I am ready to tackle. This is not a Democratic or Republican issue. It isn't a liberal or conservative issue, it is an issue of daunting complexity that can only be solved by shared sacrifice and good common sense.

I suggest that it's time for a little "kitchen table politics". Coming from a family of 10 children I can remember times when our family's needs exceeded its budget. We all, from the youngest to the oldest understood that there were only two ways to solve our family's budgetary challenges, we brought in more money AND we sacrificed by cutting our expenses. Since both of my parents were public school teachers let me assure you that primarily it was the latter.

When the discussion involved what was going to be cut, there were times that each of us brought our most important needs to the table, knowing that as hard as we lobbied for the value of our project or need, we were going to have to share the load and sacrifice in some way. Sometimes, we also came to the table with ideas for how to increase our family's total income to be certain that the most vital areas of family spending could be covered.

For me, being involved in high school athletic programs was important. But frankly, even back then, athletic shoes were expensive and there were ten of us in ten years. That's a lot of tennis shoes! Each of my siblings played a lot of ball games in their stocking feet. But when the desire for the proper equipment became so important that I felt I could not wait any longer, I got a job with the local dairy delivering milk and cheese to all of my neighbors long before the sun was up and the school bells beckoned. I knew that if I wanted it tomorrow I needed to work for it today. First you earn the money, then you spend it. What a concept!

No doubt, delivering milk cut into my free time or, perhaps more important to a high schooler, my sleep time. But, to me, the sacrifice was worth it in order to have money to pay for things I felt I needed the most and I was proud of the contribution I made to the wonderful family that surrounded me.

The American family needs to sit down at our national kitchen table and face facts. If we continue our deficit spending addiction, in less than 35 years we won't have the money as a nation for anything but Social Security, Medicare and interest payments on the national debt. The idea that we can bring in less money (ie, cut taxes) and somehow have more to spend is fuzzy thinking all of us who pay our bills every month understand doesn't make sense. We also know that however vital the programs are, if there isn't the money to pay for them we cannot continue to blindly move forward somehow hoping that the money will magically appear. Kitchen table politics requires that we all, Democrats and Republicans bring our ideas to the table and seriously consider all our options for solving this serious crisis. I am ready to put on the table overturning the Bush tax cuts for our wealthiest citizens. That brings in more money. I'm also ready to listen to my constituents' ideas for how to provide the social programs so vital to our rural communities in a cost effective way, prioritizing as we pay for them. We must support and sustain Social Security and Medicare in a fiscally responsible way, so that our children can depend on these programs.

I hear young people grumble about paying into Social Security because they are certain that it won't be there for them. I want them to know without doubt that they can depend on this program well into the future. I want them to understand that the Social Security payments they make now are what they are bringing to our nation's "kitchen table" to sustain the promises made to their parents and grandparents who made similar payments n their working years, and I might add, heard similar promises.

As your Representative I will be completely straight with you about the fiscal challenges facing this country. I will search for outcomes that don't require the most sacrifice from those who can handle it the least. I will look for ways to strengthen hardworking middle-class families while making certain that there is a strong national economy growing as a legacy for our children.

Let's meet at the kitchen table; young, old, rich, poor, Democrat, Republican, Americans all. Bring your ideas and your commitment and I know that together we can build a sustainable future and pay for it at the same time.