Bob Shiles
Staff writer
WASHINGTON — Both of Robeson County’s congressmen say it’s time for the federal government to stop busting its budget.
“Now more than ever, Congress should pass a balanced budget amendment and stop spending money our nation doesn’t have,” said Rep. Mike McIntyre, the 7th District representative and the co-sponsor of a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. “Our mounting public debt is a clear threat to our economy, job growth, national security and the well-being of our future generations, and it must be addressed.
“I have long and consistently supported a balanced budget amendment in order to ensure that our nation spends only what we take in and that we return to a path of sustainable budgeting.”
McIntyre, a Lumberton native and Democrat, used to represent all of Robeson County, but redistricting took all but a slice of the county out of that district.
Rep. Richard Hudson, a freshman Republican from Concord, represents the 8th District, which includes most of Robeson County.
“One of my top priorities in office is to advance a balanced budget amendment,” Hudson said. “This is necessary for both short-term and long-term economic prosperity and job growth. Americans balance their budget at the kitchen table. It’s nonsensical that Washington can’t do the same.”
According to Americans for a Balanced Budget Amendment, a national non-partisan organization “dedicated to passage of a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” the current national debt is now more than $16 trillion and rapidly growing. As of early Saturday morning, this amounted to a debt of $52,226 for each U.S. citizen, and a debt of $145,819 for each U.S. taxpayer, according to the website usdebtclock.org.
Americans for a Balanced Budget Amendment says the portion of the debt we pay interest on has doubled in the past four years.
“Interest on debt represents the third biggest item in the federal budget after defense and programs (Social Security and Medicare) for the elderly,” according to the non-partisan group.
As proposed, the balanced budget amendment would require that total federal spending for any fiscal year be less than the total amount of money received by the government, an increase in the debt limit be approved in the House by a three-fifths vote and the budget the president presents to Congress each year be balanced.
McIntyre said 49 out of 50 states currently have balanced-budget requirements.
“Families all across our nation understand what it means to make tough decisions every day about what they can and can’t afford,” he said. “Certainly our government should be just as responsible when it comes to the hard-earned dollars of our nation’s citizens.”
We the people run this country, not the corporations. They can drive every country to temporary crisis but the time has come to pay their piper! If you check history the tax rates on the corporations that we supply with workers, natural resources and a safe place to operate their businesses were at 90% at the time of the last stable economy. We MUST return to this. The greed overtook them and has nearly bankrupted every nation. But as they, the bankers, have seen, games up when the value of that "dollar" is diminished to nothing expotentially to the worth of services performed. Craft rules. And all the security measures in the world will not save them a swift and decidely final end.
So repeal all corporate tax breaks, zero research & development $'s and charge them for security forces as their corporate mismanagement is usually responsible for whatever conflct they are having. Hear that big oil and chemical corporations.
We need new goals for the future of us all. Reducing nuclear dependance worldwide and utilizing natural renewable resources. Peace is not that difficult to achieve. Just upholding our constitutional objectives of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is a good start.
The best way to fix this is quickly, automaticly across all the boards. Workers everywhere have kept the reality of our world afloat low these many years and the next generation must take over , let's give them a real chance and take back the money they have stolen. Pay the debts in full (no interest) and give the "entitlements" back to those who earned them!
ps. I would not hold a conversation with someone like you. If I were president, your way of thinking would have you locked up for safety. You are a danger to yourself and others...
As for nucleat power being bad, it's a shame this country has fallen so far behind France in nuclear power generation. It's clean and safe. It's a much more realistic means of meeting this country's energy demands than giant wind turbines or acres of solar panels. Those technologies are better suited to small scale, supplemental roles.
How about posting your position on the proposed bill? Either you will agree with a member of the "far right Taliban" or you will disagree with a member of the can do no wrong (except when it comes to guns) Democrat party.
You always want to talk about the right. Do you listen to all the news media especially msnbc? Talk about the word far out...
We're normal, the same party Lincoln founded in 1860... Now let's look at your party from JFK to the present.
Imagine if Obama would say tommorow what JFK said at his address: "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country".. He'd be laughed off the stage.