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Hastings has reason to be worried about nation's heavy debt
Yakima Herald-Republic Editorial Board
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This editorial appears in the Yakima Herald-Republic on July 5, 2009.
U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings says he has never seen it this bad in his 15 years in Congress.
No, he's not referring to partisan bickering. The Republican lawmaker says the two parties may differ widely in beliefs, but they still work together on key issues.
No, he's not referring to the prospects of passing comprehensive immigration reform. He's still hopeful, but the heavy lifting is going to be in the Senate where it fell apart during the final years of the Bush administration.
What he's worried about are the dollar signs, and they are all pointing to huge, unsustainable deficits. That's what has gotten the 4th District congressman riled up. In fact, he admitted during a meeting with our editorial board last Wednesday that he has never been so worried about the nation's economy than at this time.
He certainly has reason to be distressed. The Obama administration has moved aggressively on a number of fronts -- far too many from our point of view -- including global warming, education, health care and financial regulations. And we're only six months into his presidency.
The national debt is soaring to record levels with respect to our nation's Gross Domestic Product. The GDP is how we gauge growth in the nation's economy. It's the total market value of all final goods and services produced in a given period, equal to total consumer, investment and government spending, plus the value of exports, minus the value of imports.
In the first quarter of this year, the GDP growth rate actually shrank by 2.5 percent. Three years ago, the GDP rose at a healthy 3.1 percent during that same period.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, within 10 years this nation's publicly held debt will double to 82 percent of the GDP. By 2038, the debt will be 200 percent of GDP.
The effect of this mounting debt would be dramatic. It diminishes growth in the economy because dollars will be spent, not on investing in productive goods and services, but in paying off the debt.
No wonder Hastings says he's frazzled. So are we.
The latest unemployment figures released Thursday don't ease our stress level. The American economy lost another 467,000 jobs last month. With the recession entering its 20th month, wage growth is stagnant, working hours have been slashed and now more than 14.7 million people are without a job.
However, it's not the sole fault of Obama and the Democrats. Hastings and his fellow Republicans also shoulder a chunk of the blame. The Bush administration provided poor stewardship of our nation's economy with its unfunded initiatives like the Medicare prescription plan, its ill-conceived and costly invasion and occupation of Iraq and its dismissive attitude toward the "pay as you go" doctrine that requires replacing every federal dollar spent on discretionary programs with a dollar saved.
What we fear now, and Hastings voiced this concern, too, is that the Obama administration will be tempted to seek another round of stimulus funding to add to its first infusion of $787 billion.
The president may claim these latest jobless figures give further proof that something more has to be done. We urge Obama and the Democrats to hold off. Resist the temptation to fuel our mounting debt with more debt. Future generations will appreciate it, and so will we.
* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Bob Crider, Spencer Hatton and Karen Troianello.
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