Does America need rescuing?
Take 3 minutes to understand why — and how it affects you.
Throw the RopeSocial Security/Medicare Warning
Social Security and Medicare Trust funds will be exhausted in 6/7 years respectively — requiring major cuts in benefits.
“It is unconscionable to leave our kids and grandkids a bankrupt country — but that is what we are doing.”Leslie A. Rubin
Not someday. Right now — in your grocery bill, your mortgage rate, and the country your kids are going to inherit.
Out-of-control deficits and debt are a primary driver of inflation — and inflation is why your paycheck buys less than it used to.
Inflation pushes interest rates up. Your mortgage, your car loan, your credit card — every one of them costs more.
We could solve a great many of today's problems with plain fiscal responsibility. Instead the money disappears into interest.
When we can no longer borrow, the Ponzi scheme collapses. We default on our obligations, or print enormous sums to pay them. Either one will have catastrophic consequences for everyone.
The warning light isn't opinion — it's arithmetic. Economists measure a nation's risk by comparing its debt to the size of its economy. Above 60% is the warning zone. Above 90% is the danger zone. After World War II we crossed 100% — then two decades of discipline brought it under 50%. Today we sit at 125% and climbing, with the Congressional Budget Office projecting over 200%. Last time, the ship turned. This time, it's steaming straight for the iceberg.
This isn't a revenue problem. Washington takes in trillions — and spends far more, every single year, in peacetime, in a growing economy. Take eight zeros off the federal books and look at it like a family budget. Any household run like this would already be in collapse. Our own government's financial statements admit the path is "unsustainable."
We now pay over $1 trillion a year in interest, and rising every year — more than we spend on national defense. And here's the trap: about $8 trillion of old debt must be refinanced every year at whatever today's rates are. When rates rise, the fever spikes across the whole debt — and interest buys nothing. Not a road, not a soldier, not a classroom.
This is not a distant hypothetical. The trust funds that back America's two most relied-upon programs run dry in six or seven years, respectively. Under current law, when the funds are exhausted, benefits must be cut automatically — no vote required, no exceptions made.
This isn't a partisan hunch. When 1,000 likely voters were polled, the alarm was nearly unanimous — across party lines. The public sees the water rising — but does not realize the danger we face. We must recognize the danger and support difficult political decisions before Congress will act.
believe the national debt is growing at an unsustainable pace.
are alarmed a default could trigger a severe recession and 8+ million lost jobs.
are troubled that annual interest payments have reached the better part of a trillion dollars.
Ending the deficits not only avoids the catastrophe, but is pro-growth. This will make things affordable again and raise the standard of living for all Americans.
Lower spending means a smaller government, and will provide faster growth in the economy.
Endless borrowing and printing money is the root cause of inflation. Stop the deficits and inflation, and things become affordable again.
High inflation and heavy government borrowing cause interest rates to increase. Stop the deficits and interest rates will come down.
Lower prices, lower interest rates and faster growth all land in the same place. Your paycheck finally goes further.
After World War II, America owed more than its entire economy produced in a year. Two decades of fiscal discipline brought that burden down under 50% — and those same decades delivered the strongest sustained growth and the largest rise in living standards in American history. This is not a theory. It is our own record.
Socialism promises everything and delivers nothing.
Fiscal responsibility promises nothing — and delivers everything.
We are not asking Congress to feel bad about the debt. We are asking every member for four specific commitments — and we intend to vote on the answer.
End the permanent political class. Legislators who know they are going home decide for the country, not for the next election.
Move Washington back into its constitutional lane. Powers not granted to the federal government belong to the states and the people — and the bureaucracy shrinks with them.
Reform Social Security and Medicare so they can actually pay what was promised. Reform other entitlements and programs to focus on the truly needy, and reduce the spending on them.
Scrap 75,000 pages of loopholes and carve-outs. Rates low enough, and rules simple enough, to reward work and investment rather than lobbying.
Educational materials, books, video series, and weekly analysis provided in partnership with Main Street Economics, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to economic education for every American.
Congress will not move until we make them. Two minutes, two steps — and you are counted among the Americans who refuse to stay silent.
Add your name to the Americans telling Congress to end the deficits and fix the debt.
This is the part Washington actually fears. Make your vote conditional and say so.