Rep. John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-TN) brought one minute of hard-hitting reality to the United States House of Representatives on May 30, remarking that the United States government, with its over $17 trillion debt, is only escaping — for now — Detroit-style bankruptcy by printing money. The representative explains that, unless the US government becomes more fiscally responsible, the US will fail to satisfy fully obligations such as military pension and social security payments. Duncan, an RPI Advisory Board member concludes his speech by suggesting the US government “stop trying to take care of the whole world and start taking care of our own country and putting the American people first once again.”
Watch and read below Duncan’s speech:
Rep. Duncan:
Mr. Speaker, you can never satisfy the government’s appetite for money or land. They always want more. But this Nation’s national debt has now reached an astounding $17.6 trillion.
The only reason more people are not upset about that figure is that nobody can humanly comprehend a figure like $17.6 trillion.
Basically, what it means is that this Nation is in the shape of Detroit. The only difference is Detroit can’t print money. This Nation keeps printing more money, more money, and more money. That is going to speed up in the years ahead if we don’t get much more fiscal conservatism at the Federal level.
Anyone who wants to draw Social Security, our Federal pension, or our military pension that will buy very much in future years should demand much more fiscal responsibility from our Federal Government.
What we mainly need to do, Mr. Speaker, we need to stop trying to take care of the whole world and start taking care of our own country and putting the American people first once again.
Duncan has certainly identified a part of the US government budget ripe for huge spending cuts. The Cost of War Project estimated in 2013 that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan alone had by then cost over $3 trillion. Add to that amount the cost of military and other foreign aid to governments from Colombia to Ethiopia to Egypt to Ukraine, vast US military installations all over the world, “democracy promotion” projects and “freedom fighters” assistance to overthrow governments, funneling money to the international rich and connected through organizations including the International Monetary Fund, and various other forms of foreign intervention.
