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Page 4 · column 3 of 6 · from the scan, no model involved
Budget
Balance
Important
To the Editor:
Washington rhetoric frequently overshadows the substance as Congress, the media and interest groups each try to portray differing angles and idiosyncrasies of a particular issue. Today, our federal government is engaged in heated debate about one of the most critical issues facing our nation — the achievement of a balanced budget. And once again, the rhetoric has dwarfed the fact that a balanced budget is absolutely paramount to protect the future of our nation and its coming generations.
One might wonder how our * nation got into such fiscal disarray. The concept is simple — a deficit occurs when spending exceeds earnings. Most American individuals and businesses understand this principle and its grave consequences. We make hard decisions based on need and available resources in order to maintain a proper balance between income and expenditures. Unfortunately, our federal government has ignored this simple principle. Our elected officials have opted to provide increased benefits to more and more people — without the resources to do so. Over the past few decades, our government has followed a course of continuous borrowing in order to deliver these promised benefits. And now our nation faces a debt approaching $5 trillion dollars.
This figure is almost inconceivable. To put it in perspective, consider that upon birth each American child is immediately saddled with $18,000 in debt. During the course of a lifetime, each of these newborn children will pay an estimated $187,000 in taxes to pay the interest on the debt alone. In 1995, our nation will spend more on debt interest, $235 billion, than it spends on education, training, energy, public works, NASA and basic social services combined.
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