Watching the wranglings of Congress over the debt limit and then watching the stocks rise and fall after a compromise was finally reached has made many wonder what the economic future of our nation holds.

While I may wish to point out the role of fiat money in our whole dilemma, I will refrain from that topic and just deal with the only viable solution to our financial problems and the unlikelihood our nation will ever get out of the fiscal mess in which it flounders.

One hears a lot of talk from politicians about reducing the national deficit and that may sound well and good. But what we must understand is that reducing the deficit is not reducing the debt; it is only reducing the rate at which we increase the national debt. As long as there is a deficit,we are still spending more than our incoming revenue and the debt is still growing. Until we cut the deficit to zero, we are still borrowing to make the budget, even if we are putting a little less on the government’s credit card than we did the year before. Deficit spending, whether great or small, means the federal government is spending more than it takes in and the debt of “we, the people” is still growing.

I recently saw a good bumper sticker which has application to this whole mess. It read like this: “Saving is spending less than you make.” The statement is so simple and yet right on the mark. As long as one is spending more than he makes, he is headed toward a day of reckoning when his income will not be sufficient to pay his debts, interest and other necessary expenses tosurvive. While reducing the deficit may put off that day of reckoning a little longer, it is not a change in course. That day is still coming!

What our nation needs is zero deficit spending and enough surplus income to pay down and eventually eliminate the national debt. Yes, that is spending less than what is taken in through taxes and using that surplus revenue to pay down the debt. Note, too, that a budget surplus is not the same as a surplus in revenue, because a budget surplus may only reflect deficit spending adopted by Congress. Our government often gives away “surplus” borrowed money in the form of grants.

While Congress wrangled for weeks and months about raising the nation’s debt limit to avoid a government default on its obligations, the solution with its proposed reduction in deficit spending will not solve the problem of increasing debt unless and until the federal government quits budgeting and spending more than it takes in. That, of course, brings us to the real cruxof the problem: How do we balance the budget and quit spending more than we take in?

Really, only two solutions - or a combination of the two - exist: 1. Increase incoming revenue; and 2. Cut spending. Everyone should know what spending cuts and downsizing means. Increases in revenue, on the other hand, can occur in a number of ways, including tax increases, closing tax law loopholes, and expanding the tax base by increasing individual and business income and the numbers of those generating taxable income.

While both sides of the aisle argue over the preferable method to reduce deficit spending, an honest and workable solution to our debt crisis will likely require all of the above. The problem is that, while every one would like to see our government’s financial house put back in order, no one is willing to do what it takes because it is unpopular and will take sacrifice on the part of all.

Those who favor tax increases, favor increasingthe taxes of others but not their own. Those who favor cuts in spending don’t want to give up their own jobs, benefits or entitlements. Politicians who wish to stay in office don’t want to be the ones who cut the benefits of their constituents or raise their taxes. Nor do they want to appear unpatriotic and vote for cuts in military expenditures.

What we really need to do as a people is elect leaders honest enough to do what’s best for America even though the pill won’t be easy to swallow for any of us. But who wants to vote for a politician who says we need to reform the tax code, close tax loopholes and all pay our fair share to get out of this mess? Who wants to vote for a politician who promises less in the way of government entitlements; who makes our military a force to secure our bordersand protect our nation and people and not a force to police the world; who quits doling out borrowed money for education, disaster relief, social programs, foreign aid, domestic grants and the like? Who wants to run on aplatform of extreme cuts in government services and a fair tax system to fund the essentials?

No, instead, we the people keep voting for the politicians who promise to maintain and increase our benefits, cut our taxes and only raise the taxes and cut the benefits of others. If they promise us a life of prosperity and ease, we give them our vote even though we know, deep down, they can’t deliver. And those who speak the truth and tell of the sacrifices we all must make to fix the problem we shun in the voting booth.

And so, the rhetoric over the best ways to reduce deficit spending will likely continue, as will deficit spending and a rise in the national debt. And the day of reckoning will come when the United States can no longer meet its financial obligations. And, yes, that will impact us all, more than we can imagine!

Randy Moll is the managing editor of the Westside Eagle Observer. He may be reached by e-mail at [email protected].

Opinion, Pages 6 on 08/17/2011