April 29 marked the third year that the U.S. Senate majority has failed to pass a budget. The Senate majority has not even voted in favor of a budget in two years and continues to make excuses for its failure to pass a budget instead of working on a solution, according to U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo.
Since April 29, 2009 the federal government has added nearly $4.5 trillion to the United States’ gross debt, causing it to surpass the size of the entire economy at almost $16 trillion. Our debt-per-person is more than $49,000 and growing daily.
“How bad is it? We have maxed out our credit cards. Our debt is equal to the size of total annual United States economic production,” said Enzi. “You can’t tax enough to pay off the debt. You have to stop spending or actually cut back – something we have never done.”
As the numbers are in the trillions, it can be difficult to grasp just how drastic of a situation we are in. To give our country’s debt more perspective, Enzi compared the country’s finances to what they would be on a family scale.
Enzi commented, “If a person has $25,000 in credit card debt and an annual salary of $25,000 do you think the credit card company would allow them to add another $2,500 a year in additional debt without paying any off? Or, if a person has a credit card debt of $156,000 and an annual income of $156,000, do you think the credit card company would allow you to add another $15,600 a year in additional debt without paying any off?
“America owes over $15 trillion. Do you think our creditors will have enough confidence to let us add another 1.5 trillion without any increase in economic capability? Look at all the zeros in 15 trillion dollars - $15,000,000,000,000.00. No country has ever had that kind of debt.”
Senator Enzi introduced his “Penny Plan” as a solution to the national debt. By cutting a single penny from every dollar the government spends (a 1% cut) for five years, the budget would be balanced.
