$15 Trillion Debt More Dangerous Than Bin Laden

Since the launch of Soviet satellites in 1957, Washington has dedicated the entire nation to a military competition with Moscow that still has no foreseeable end date. The results could be imagined — the Soviet Union collapsed under the heavy burden and the U.S. now faces an astronomical debt despite a seeming agreement by the government to continue its operations. At this point, U.S. debt has risen to $15 trillion. Although the U.S. could alleviate its debt pains through quantitative easing, it still needs to pay $700 billion in debt interests. When revenue cannot cover debt each year, it’s like there is a time bomb ready to explode and sink the American warship. From this perspective, U.S. debt is more dangerous than bin Laden.

Last year, Obama tightened public administration spending in the face of a huge budget deficit. He proposed suspending salary increases for public servants over the next two years for the government to reduce its deficit. If things go according to plan, the White House thinks $5 billion could be saved on spending over the next two years, $28 billion could be saved over five years, and $60 billion could be saved over 10 years. But because the savings would come through cutting the salary of public servants, it has been met with strong opposition from Republican senators and labor unions. Recently, Obama proposed a similar plan to cut the deficit by signing a special order. The possible plan to reduce the deficit is dwarfed by the actual $15 trillion shortfall. It also shows the White House’s negligence; it patches the small holes while draining money through bigger holes. Libya, for that matter, is a huge money-burning endeavor.

Anti-Spending is a soft patch to a larger problem

According to Obama’s comments, Washington has formed a supervision committee to oversee the budget and effectively manage spending. The departments’ secretaries are required to report to Vice President Joe Biden on spending in order to monitor progress. Obama also asked the nation to collaborate on decreasing spending in order to solve the nation’s deficit problem. The White House previously requested that Congress lift the debt ceiling from its current $14.3 trillion, but was met with opposition from Republicans. In fact, anti-spending measures cannot fundamentally fix the deficit situation but could impair the public sector’s ability to function. The huge budget deficit has Washington throwing darts in a futile attempt to make one stick in the board.

According to Obama’s anti-spending order, Washington must stop creating new websites in the next few months and close down or consolidate government-operated websites from 2000 to 500. Money is now the most painful problem for America. The Afghan and Iraq Wars and the recent involvement in Libya have exacerbated the arguments about spending on Capitol Hill. The prolonged military engagements have made impassioned Americans detest wars. The House Budget Committee expressed similar opinions and Congressman Norman Dicks said, “Obama, with all due respect, has not been very good at bringing down the leaders in the Congress on defense issues and even asking their opinions on these things.”

Libya is America’s Rope around the Neck

Obama’s government is currently worrying about the conflict in Libya. The House of Representatives has called for an end to U.S. military intervention in Libya and asked Obama to explain himself in regards to the military spending in Libya and the purpose of the mission. Tough questions are being thrown at the White House. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates made a disappointing statement about NATO and the lack of funding, saying that the world’s most important defense alliance is facing “the real possibility for a dim, if not dismal future for the transatlantic alliance.” Gates also openly said, “I’ve worried openly about NATO turning into a two-tiered alliance” and “the U.S. share of NATO defense spending has risen to more than 75 percent at a time when politically painful budget and benefit cuts are being considered at home.” The White House’s current hope is to quickly finish the Libyan War because there is no money left to spend.

Gates’ most critical words were, “Despite the demands of mission in Afghanistan — the first ‘hot’ ground war fought in NATO history — total European defense spending declined…Future U.S. political leaders may not consider the return on America’s investment in NATO worth the cost.” Although Western media thinks that Gates’ words may increase the divide between the U.S. and the EU, the House of Representatives has realized that the U.S. cannot carry the burden of war alone: “What can a country with 15 trillion dollars of debt do?” Republican and Democratic congressman all called for the retreat of forces in Afghanistan. Right wing tea party members and left wing politicians have performed an ironic show lately, but they share common ground in their opinion on ending the wars.