By Ken Spain, National Republican Congressional Committee – The country is facing what could be one of the worst financial crises in history, but Colleen Hanabusa’s Democrat friends refuse to accept reality.
Despite the national debt reaching an all-time high of $13-trillion and unemployment being at a painful 9.7 percent, Washington Democrats continue to push forward with their reckless spending agenda. Just last week, they passed another spending bill that will increase the deficit by an additional $57.4 billion.
Now, economists are warning that an additional one million jobs are at stake and that the country is venturing on an unsustainable path. Instead of creating a budget to address the country’s economic crisis, Hanabusa’s would-be Democrat colleagues continue to push full-speed ahead with their runaway spending.
“The level of U.S. debt has reached a point at which economic growth traditionally begins to slow, a bipartisan fiscal commission making recommendations to the White House and Congress was told Wednesday.
“When gross debt hits 90 percent of GDP, Reinhart told the commission during a hearing in the Capitol, growth ‘deteriorates markedly.’ Median growth rates fall by 1 percent, and average growth rates fall ‘considerably more,’ she said.
“Reinhart said the commission shouldn’t wait to put in place a plan to rein in deficits. ‘I have no positive news to give,’ she said. ‘Fiscal austerity is something nobody wants, but it is a fact.’” (Walter Alarkon, “U.S. debt reaches level at which economic growth begins to slow,” The Hill, 5/26/2010)
Today, during a Budget Committee hearing, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke admitted that Congress could tackle the deficit by cutting spending – if it wanted to.
Rep. Gerry Connolly: “Can we get to serious deficit reduction, change that trajectory you talked about, if we eliminate half of the ledger sheet?”
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke: “Well theoretically we could if you cut enough, but it would be very difficult to do that.”
Connolly: “Is there enough spending to be cut?”
Bernanke: “Well, of course.” (Bernanke testimony to the House Budget Committee, 6/9/10)
The country is facing one of the worst financial crises of all times, but Colleen Hanabusa’s out-of-touch Washington friends refuse to do what middle class families have been doing for some time – live within their means.
As the economy continues to bleed jobs and with another million at stake, it is time for Washington Democrats to follow through on the job of governing by creating a responsible budget that cuts spending and puts the country back on track. With economists across the country and even Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke calling on the Democrats to the stop their spending, will Hanabusa’s party ever put the brakes on their runaway job-killing agenda?