There is a secret entitlement program that the Obama administration does not want to talk about. This entitlement program does not help those on Medicare or Medicaid, and it is not part of the Social Security system. This entitlement program has one function: paying interest to foreign governments that bankroll our ever-growing $14 trillion national debt.
When the federal government spends more money than it takes in during a fiscal year, there is a deficit. The deficit turns into the debt when the Treasury Department issues interest-bearing Treasury securities so the government can continue to spend. If the federal government were ever to default on these securities, or not make an interest payment, America’s credit rating would suffer. In this scenario, the economic consequences would be dire for the United States.
In Citizens United Productions’ film Generation Zero, Fox Business analyst Tobin Smith warns, “We wouldn’t be paying down the debt. We would just simply be like the consumer at home who only pays a minimum on their credit card. That’s what we’re talking about, and that begins what I’m calling the financial death spiral.” The start of the financial “death spiral” can be seen in President Obama’s 2012 budget.
According to the president’s budget, interest payments for the national debt will quadruple from $186.9 billion in 2009 to $768.2 billion in 2020. That equals $2,500 for every man, woman, and child to pay off just the interest on our national debt every year. The American taxpayer will be like the Greek King Sisyphus, rolling the (debt) boulder up a mountain only to watch it come tumbling down over and over again. Remember, the $768.2 billion Americans will be paying in 2020 does not bring down our national debt; it just pays off the interest the debt has accrued!
As the Washington Post points out, the interest payments for our national debt will eclipse the spending of all discretionary programs except for defense by 2014. By 2018, interest payments on our national debt will be more expensive than one of the nation’s largest entitlement programs — Medicare. Politically difficult decisions have to be made, but President Obama’s leadership on this important issue is nowhere to be found.
President Obama talked about doing “big things” and making “big changes” during his 2010 State of the Union address, and said, “Those of us in public office can respond to this reality by playing it safe and avoid telling hard truths and pointing fingers. We can do what’s necessary to keep our poll numbers high, and get through the next election instead of doing what’s best for the next generation.”
Mr. President, if you believe what you said back in 2010, now is the time to make the tough decisions needed to dig America out of our fiscal black hole. For a leader who was elected on the mantle of change, I find it interesting how content President Obama is with the failing status quo. Unfortunately, it looks like Mr. Obama is more concerned about not angering the big government constituencies that will fund his $1 billion reelection campaign.
America faces a tough and bumpy road ahead. If the Obama administration continues to ignore the problems of irresponsible spending and the soaring interest payments on our $14 trillion national debt, then that road will most certainly lead to a dead end and future generations will be thrown under the bus. To conquer our debt, and the secret entitlement program that pays its interest, we must come together as a country and force our leaders to make the tough decisions. If not, America will become a second-rate power.
David N. Bossie is the president of Citizens United and Citizens United Productions, and the executive producer of “America at Risk.”