Chances are good that I'll be dead in 2040

I’m 54 today. If I’m around in 2040, I’ll be a ripe 87-years-old.

What’s so special about 2040? That’s the year when the government will only be able to pay interest on the national debt, if the maddened pace of irresponsible federal spending continues.

And that’s not coming from a small-town newspaper publisher. It’s coming from Comptroller General David Walker, a man who has held the top accounting job in the government for 15 years and who should know whereof he speaks. His job is non-political. He’s not a tax-and-spend Democrat or a spend-like-there’s-no-tomorrow-and-let-the-grandkids-pay Republican.

And guess what? It’s not the war driving the deficit. It’s tax cuts, earmarks, and spending increases on domestic programs, according to Walker.

And who’s to blame? You and I. We elect Congressmen who simply will not make a reasonable attempt to balance our budget.

Where were our elected representatives when the last pork-laden budget was signed into law? They were shovelling as much pork into the ol’ hometown as possible. Where is the restraint?

The answer’s simple. There is no restraint. And it’s our fault. We elect politicians. We don’t elect statesmen.

Try this hypothetical example: Some folks in town want a new swimming pool. No one wants to pay for it locally. That’s expensive. So pool proponents ask for a government grant. That’s the American way. Meanwhile, two candidates are running for Congress. One comes to town and says, sure, elect me and I’ll get the grant for the new pool.

The other says sorry, unless we increase your income tax there won’t be any money for the pool. Since I oppose tax increases, and since I refuse to inflict the cost of the pool on future generations, there will be no pool if I’m elected.

Who do you vote for?

There’s the rub. Some political scientists will tell you that democracy is inevitably doomed, as voters will continue to demand irresponsible spending while politicians kowtow to their wishes. Until we replace politicians with statesmen, the downward path is clear. We’re on it.

The future lies with the young. They’re the ones who’ll be paying the piper as 2040 nears. Older Americans are well-organized into pressure groups adept at demanding that Social Security and other entitlements continue to skyrocket upwards. Until younger Americans realize they are the ones who’ll be paying the bill and vote accordingly, little will change.

We’re a year away from primary elections. Keep an eye on the candidates and think about your grandkids.

And keep an eye on the Democratic Party’s pay-as-you-go plan. The idea is that no new programs are funded unless there’s an increase in taxes or an equal decrease elsewhere in expense.

It’s a far better idea than anything the Republicans have had in their years of inexcusably irresponsible spending. Let’s see if it survives even one federal budget process.