A Discussion, Delayed

Driving into work today, I stopped for a school bus coming in the opposite direction and waited for two of the neighborhood kids to board. A family from my neighborhood has a nice little tradition the bus driver allows for: Dad waves first, then Mom and finally baby sister (about age 4 who clearly cherishes her moment). Then, and only after the little sister waves, does the driver pull away. It’s a cute scene and I’m glad I got to witness the following moment, as the little girl danced her way back up the drive, arms above her head, swaying to a beat only she could hear. 

Watching this I thought to myself, “She doesn’t know a thing about our 2024 fiscal budget deficit approaching $1.83 trillion.”

Well… I can be a little dark before I get to the office and have my coffee.

Certainly, I don’t think this child, or any child, should be concerned about our federal deficit, but I do think adults need to start being concerned about this, and when we do think about deficits, maybe we should have this little girl in mind. After all, when she gets older it appears our current plan is to stick her and her two little brothers with the tab.

A few tidbits from the 2024 fiscal debacle:
• Individual income tax revenues increased 11%
• Corporate income taxes increased 26%
• Federal spending increased 11%
• Net interest on debt increased 34%

We have but three options here. 1) increase taxes, 2) decrease spending, and 3) grow the economy. Last year we only attempted item #3 and while that was successful (yay, capitalism!) it wasn’t close to being sufficient for the needs of my neighbor’s children.

As a country we can solve this problem, but we need to start with honest conversations about our fiscal debt. The final days before an election are not the time to start that conversation. Candidates have a need to behave like Santa Claus right now, but soon enough our recently elected officials will need to start behaving like Statesmen. Our nation’s children deserve no less.