The National Debt is Immoral

​Debt is the modern version of indentured servitude. I say that not to down play the seriousness of indentured servitude, but to emphasize the seriousness of excessive debt. I believe that there is a distinct difference between calculated, controlled debt, and excessive debt. For example, the vast majority of households do not have $100,000 to $300,000 or more in cash on hand to purchase a house, so many mortgage programs help families attain home ownership that they wouldn’t be able to attain without debt. I believe this is an example of calculated, controlled debt for most families that help to secure that families economic future.

When paying the minimum payments on multiple credit cards, or financing a car with no down payment it gets easier and easier to spiral down and out of control. Talk to anyone who’s been in this situation or currently struggles with this situation, and they’ll tell you it’s like a ball and chain, or weighted shoes, where the more debt they have accumulated, the harder it is to try to get out from under it. This is irresponsible and irrational. I believe that the United States is getting pretty close to this cliff.

​If just about every family across the country can understand this analogy, and wouldn’t put their family under this much stress, then how is it that we allow our political leaders to do this very thing to our country? The more countries we take loans from, the more likely it is that dirty money will come into our country. The more countries we take loans from, and the more that we owe each of these countries, the easier it would be for that country to decide they want to recall the loan in full immediately or they could coerce our country to pay back in giving away national resources, and maybe even eventually our troops, our very flesh and blood. We’re not free if we can barely make the interest payments on the loans that we already have. That being said, I don’t advocate in any way, trying to default on any of our loans, at all.

I describe myself as a diehard centrist, so obviously I can see why the country at certain points has needed some debt to pay for other things. I would also wholeheartedly support a candidate that was honest with me and said “We can’t afford tax cuts, but with the current tax revenue, we can balance the budget, and pay down the current national debt by x%.” This is what responsible families do when they want to reel in their spending. Why don’t we hold our federal government to the same standard?

The truth is that out nation is not just some abstract intity. Our children and their children after them will be paying on these “national” debts out of their taxes and through inflation that will chip away and away at their quality of life. It is a crime against future generations to saddle them with these burdens. The citizens, taxpayers, and voters must start start speaking out and voting out politicians who are unwilling to take the necessary measures to pay down the national debt.