The United States is committing Suicide! Our Ship of State is taking on water. Stop thinking we are OK; we are not OK. The worst problem is that most citizens do not realize how serious the problem is. Yes, we are complacent;  we are the United States, and nothing can harm us.

Wrong!

The Good News: There is time to fix our problem IF the citizens understand and have the will to support our representatives on tough political issues.

The Bad News:  There is time to fix the problem, so we citizens are unconcerned and let our representatives kick the can down the road never addressing the critical issues. The road is getting short and at the end of the road is a crisis like we have never witnessed before

Did anyone happen to notice the recent debt downgrade by Moody’s for the sovereign debt of The United States. Moody’s was late to the party, as they often are. S&P downgraded U.S. debt in 2011, and Fitch in 2023.  From 1998-2001, the U.S. actually had a budget surplus each year, but we have been on a progressively worse spending binge ever since.

Our interest-bearing debt is now $37 trillion – to put that in perspective, that is 125% of our total economy, Gross Domestic Product (GDP). That’s a problem. To make matters worse, it is projected to go to around $70 trillion in 10 years and over 200% of GDP in coming decades. The last time our debt exceeded 100% of GDP was after WWII, but that was followed by two decades of fiscal responsibility, and a rapidly growing economy.  The ratio fell to under 40%, a very comfortable position. The picture today is dramatically different.

And if you want more bad news, our total obligations today, including unfunded obligations of Social Security and Medicare, are $130.9 trillion. Wow – a MEGO number (my eyes glaze over).  Incomprehensible! Unsustainable! Even our own government says so in the annual audited report.

As Hemingway so aptly noted, you can go bankrupt “gradually, then suddenly.”

The U.S. House just passed their version of the One Big, Beautiful, Bill, which regrettably would add another $3.8 trillion to the national debt according to the Congressional Budget Office. It could end up being one more step toward giving our kids, grandkids, and all future generations a bankrupt country.

Here is the problem: our politicians are focused on the next election, not the next generation. And we keep electing them as they give out goodies to get re-elected. So, it just keeps getting worse and worse until the USS Titanic sinks. I can see it coming and, if you are paying attention, you will too.  And when that day finally arrives, it will be too late, there will be economic devastation like we have never seen before – the Great Depression will seem like child’s play and our government will have no resources to deal with it.

Citizens, hear me now. Listen; Learn; Think; Act!  It is up to us to let our representatives know we want this problem fixed.  NOW, while there is still time.

Editor’s Note: This post was contributed by a guest. The views and opinions outlined in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of No Labels. Any data not linked is from the author’s own calculations.