It is perhaps an example of the times in which we live. A report by The Government Accountability Office offers a bleak future for the American economy, and hardly anyone notices.
We are too busy discussing the balloon boy, the White House’s war on Fox News and (to be fair) crucial issues involving Afghanistan and health care. But it would have been nice if, just for a day or two, lawmakers might stop for a moment to discuss the elephant in the room sure to be with us longer than it takes for their terms expire.
A GAO report to Congress on the nation’s long-term fiscal outlook opens with an indictment of a U.S. government that has, it says, “contributed to near-term increases in federal deficits, which reached a record level in fiscal year 2009.” The government, according to the report, “faces even larger fiscal challenges that will persist long after the return of financial stability and economic growth.” The government is on an “unsustainable” fiscal path.
Translated, you and I are on an unsustainable path. Governments only make policy. Policies someday must come due, and eventually we all must pay.
A country that cannot control its spending must take in ever-greater amounts of money to maintain balance while being sure to protect itself as a credit risk.
The GAO report is not reassuring on this point. Extrapolating debt numbers from 2000 to 2040 under the present rate, the report says revenue would need to be increased by 47 percent and noninterest spending trimmed by 33 percent over the next 75 years to hold debt to 2008 levels (40.8 percent of GDP) to maintain a livable balance.
Nobody wants to worry about the future now, of course, while we are so busy digging out of our present troubles. Least of all members of Congress, who think long-term only as far as the next election cycle.
But tomorrow doesn’t worry for itself. A nation ignores the future at its peril.
Someday, this country will need to produce leaders willing to favor long-term planning over short-term gains. How many years will lapse before we begin discussing our long-term future in earnest? Ten years? Twenty? Thirty?
Editorials
Our View: A warning not to be ignored
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Our View: Good turnout at anti-bully session
Community involvement in solving the bullying problem is identified as important. Mankato had a strong showing at a recent meeting on the subject.
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Our View: Automatic cuts will test Congress
It appears the automatic spending cuts known as sequestration that Congress passed last year are working as designed, or maybe not.
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Our View: Senjem is positioning
Thumbs down: To Senate Majority Leader Dave Senjem’s posturing on civic center funding.
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Our View: When will this partisan war end?
Earlier this year in his State of the State address, Gov. Mark Dayton said “If we cooperate, if we share our best ideas, if we exchange our rigid ideologies for our shared ideals, we will revitalize our state.”
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Our View: War on terror isn't over
Weary of a war on terror that has gone on for years, we would like to declare victory and return to normalcy. But the terror war goes on.
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Our View: River issues need to be addressed
People living in the Minnesota River basin, particularly those in the region around Mankato, may not be aware they are increasingly under scrutiny and facing criticism.
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Our View: A chance to step up against bullying
The visit by an anti-bullying task force gives this community an opportunity to brainstorm how to stop bullying.
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Our View: Stadium deal works for Vikings, fans
The biggest win for Minnesota in the Vikings stadium deal is that it finally got done.
Minnesota will have a professional football team for the next 30 years playing in a first-class stadium. -
Our View: Bonding bill was important
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Our View: Blame Lugar's loss on arrogance
Richard Lugar’s loss in the Indiana Republican primary this week came as a bit of a shock to party stalwarts since his opponent, state Treasurer Richard Mourdock, is a Tea Party candidate who received support from Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann.
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