America, the most prosperous nation in the history of the world, a nation that is the envy of other nations around us, the most dominant force our planet has ever known, has a major problem.
Our current way of life is built on a house of cards: Our powerful society is only made possible by our ability to borrow money.
Here is the irony: the most powerful nation in the world needs outside sources to fund it. We cannot fund our greatness with our own resources. If we could, we wouldn't be $16 trillion in debt. So, that leads us to the question- are we truly that powerful? Or is our power and influence based on a shaky lifeline that could be cut off in an instant?
I wonder if anyone in Washington is preparing for what would happen if all of a sudden we were no longer able to borrow money. We currently borrow 42% of what we spend. Forty-two cents of every dollar spent by our government is borrowed. Is there a contingency plan for what we will do when, not if, that borrowing is cut off?
Will we truly be a superpower if we can no longer borrow money?
Take this analogy: a prosperous city grows and grows. It becomes an economic power in the land. It has a strong military. Its education system is the best in the business. Its population grows as more people flood into it, making it the most powerful city in the entire kingdom.
Everything is going right for that city except one thing. It has a population of 500,000, but its water supply can only support 300,000. The city leaders make a deal with a neighboring city to buy enough water to supply the additional 200,000.
Things are going great. The city thrives, times are good, all is well.
Then something terrible happens. The neighboring city experiences a water shortage. It cuts off the water supply to the prosperous city to keep the water for its own citizens.
The prosperous city has no contingency plan. It has no water reserves, no plan for what might happen if the 40% of its water supply is disrupted. Prices for water skyrocket as shortages loom. There are riots in the streets, businesses close, people die. Soon half the city's population is either dead or have left in search of other water sources. The prosperous city becomes a third-world city- a shadow of its former self.
The city's prosperity was built on the assumption that an outside source could supply its needs. It was based on the fact that they could always get water from an outside source. Its greatness was dependent on someone else supplying its vital needs. Once that was gone, the city was gone.
The same is true of the United States. Our greatness is built on the assumption that we will always be able to borrow money from outside sources. From a national security standpoint, and from a simple common sense standpoint, this is a disastrous foundation for a society. What happens when we can no longer borrow money? What happens to our government, to our military, to our people, to our disabled, to the people on Social Security, to the people on welfare? What will we do?
Is anyone in leadership asking these questions? We borrow $1.2 trillion dollars every year. What happens when we can no longer do that? Is the United States truly on a strong foundation? Or are we on a shaky foundation that could collapse at any moment?
If our leaders had any sanity whatsoever, they would realize the precarious position that we are in right now. Sure, while we can borrow money, things appear great. Wise leaders, however, are farsighted enough to see the consequences of their actions. The consequences of basing an entire country on the ability to borrow money are terrible. This is true for a nation, a business, a family, or a person. I am very concerned, because no one is able to borrow anything indefinitely. No nation can survive spending more than it brings in. No person can thrive while piling up debt. No family experiences peace while beholden to debtors. No nation has an unlimited credit card. Sooner or later, money runs out. Then where will we as a nation be?
Our current way of life is built on a house of cards: Our powerful society is only made possible by our ability to borrow money.
Here is the irony: the most powerful nation in the world needs outside sources to fund it. We cannot fund our greatness with our own resources. If we could, we wouldn't be $16 trillion in debt. So, that leads us to the question- are we truly that powerful? Or is our power and influence based on a shaky lifeline that could be cut off in an instant?
I wonder if anyone in Washington is preparing for what would happen if all of a sudden we were no longer able to borrow money. We currently borrow 42% of what we spend. Forty-two cents of every dollar spent by our government is borrowed. Is there a contingency plan for what we will do when, not if, that borrowing is cut off?
Will we truly be a superpower if we can no longer borrow money?
Take this analogy: a prosperous city grows and grows. It becomes an economic power in the land. It has a strong military. Its education system is the best in the business. Its population grows as more people flood into it, making it the most powerful city in the entire kingdom.
Everything is going right for that city except one thing. It has a population of 500,000, but its water supply can only support 300,000. The city leaders make a deal with a neighboring city to buy enough water to supply the additional 200,000.
Things are going great. The city thrives, times are good, all is well.
Then something terrible happens. The neighboring city experiences a water shortage. It cuts off the water supply to the prosperous city to keep the water for its own citizens.
The prosperous city has no contingency plan. It has no water reserves, no plan for what might happen if the 40% of its water supply is disrupted. Prices for water skyrocket as shortages loom. There are riots in the streets, businesses close, people die. Soon half the city's population is either dead or have left in search of other water sources. The prosperous city becomes a third-world city- a shadow of its former self.
The city's prosperity was built on the assumption that an outside source could supply its needs. It was based on the fact that they could always get water from an outside source. Its greatness was dependent on someone else supplying its vital needs. Once that was gone, the city was gone.
The same is true of the United States. Our greatness is built on the assumption that we will always be able to borrow money from outside sources. From a national security standpoint, and from a simple common sense standpoint, this is a disastrous foundation for a society. What happens when we can no longer borrow money? What happens to our government, to our military, to our people, to our disabled, to the people on Social Security, to the people on welfare? What will we do?
Is anyone in leadership asking these questions? We borrow $1.2 trillion dollars every year. What happens when we can no longer do that? Is the United States truly on a strong foundation? Or are we on a shaky foundation that could collapse at any moment?
If our leaders had any sanity whatsoever, they would realize the precarious position that we are in right now. Sure, while we can borrow money, things appear great. Wise leaders, however, are farsighted enough to see the consequences of their actions. The consequences of basing an entire country on the ability to borrow money are terrible. This is true for a nation, a business, a family, or a person. I am very concerned, because no one is able to borrow anything indefinitely. No nation can survive spending more than it brings in. No person can thrive while piling up debt. No family experiences peace while beholden to debtors. No nation has an unlimited credit card. Sooner or later, money runs out. Then where will we as a nation be?
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