The U.S. national debt is the elephant in our room on the world stage, and this elephant is growing far too big to ignore. The national debt is now more than $34 trillion and counting, with nearly $2 trillion added to the total just since last summer. In fact, we now owe so much money that even eliminating every federal department and employee wouldn't balance our budget.
While most of our politicians and elected officials keep whistling past the graveyard, a growing number of leaders in banking, finance and business are sounding the alarm over this growing crisis. Among them is Fred Smith, founder and executive chairman of FedEx, who recently spoke with Fox News about this issue. "The CBO just announced that we'll spend more this year on interest (on the debt) than we'll spend on the defense department," he says. "These subjects are not even mentioned in our political discourse these days, it's very concerning."
Particularly concerning is the threat all of this debt places on the value of the U.S. dollar, which has long been the world's reserve currency. Smith is not the only expert warning about this issue. "The so-called BRICS alliance of nations---Brazil, Russia, India and China---have set out on a deliberate course to dethrone the (U.S.) dollar," he says. "If that happens and we can't sell our bonds, I can assure you that the living standards we all enjoy today are going to be a thing of the past."
Smith warns current policy out of D.C. has us in a reckless cycle of borrowing and spending, without actually producing. "In the last couple of years, we've simply been borrowing from our grandchildren, and living beyond our means," he says. "We're spending money today primarily to employ more people in government, healthcare, services, and other pursuits that are not really driven by the fundamental engines of growth, which are productivity, invention, and innovation."
"A lot of people are starting to say this," Smith continues. "The chairman of the Federal Reserve said it a week ago, the head of our largest bank, JP Morgan Chase--Jamie Dimon--has said it repeatedly...and hopefully I'm adding to the chorus in saying that this is unsustainable."
Photo: AFP