Bobby O: Federal Budget Must Be Balanced

This article is not intended to bash any party or candidate, but given the upcoming election, one should know how these discussed policies might affect Loudoun and its ability to finance its growth.

Last week, the national debt passed the $16.2 Trillion level. According to Treasurydirect.gov the interest paid on U.S. debt YTD October 2012 is about $360 Billion. According to PIMCO, the Federal Reserve is currently lowering real interest rates by almost an entire percent through Operation Twist where the Fed buys mortgage securities. This means that without the Fed's action the current government addiction to spending more than it takes in the interest cost to all eventual taxpayers would be more than three times higher than today.

Can you imagine having an interest cost of well over $2 trillion per year while the federal  government continues to spend over a $1 trillion more than it takes in EVERY YEAR? State debt is about $4 Trillion according to Statebudgetsolutions.org, but given states balance their budgets yearly, they would seem to be better able to adapt to such challenges as this level is only a third of gross state product. Does the federal government really have a GDP or isn't it really the accumulation of all the State's gross products?

How does this affect Loudoun? It should be accepted that unless and until the federal government (ALL OUR LEGISLATORS AND THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH) force themselves from the all-you-can-spend buffet table and live within a yearly balanced budget the federal mess will be merely passed down to the states to absorb. This will put enormous pressure on our ability to fund our schools, the largest part of the county budget.

Lowering the mortgage deduction as just one example will directly affect the value of homes which is directly tied to property taxes counties like Loudoun depend on. It is far simpler than whether we tax ourselves more or get everyone to work even if the jobs are severely below one’s competence level. It is about forcing all candidates for office to responsibly live within their yearly budget not pay themselves and their friends first and then at the end of the year say if they don't spend more it will hurt the children or some other group designed for maximum empathy.

Until the electorate smartens up along with the media being more adept at analyzing what is really going on, we are likely to be forced to submit to the horrors of having more debt than can be managed. The federal government needs to be required to balance the budget IMMEDIATELY or institute term limits so someone new can try to fix the problem!