2014 WV Senate debate: on Budget & Economy

John Buckley: National debt beggars future generations

I support balanced budgets--at a grossly reduced level of spending; the elimination of such federal agencies as the Departments of Education, HUD, and HHS (and significant budget cuts in all other federal departments); and the privatization of such unnecessary government services as passenger rail (e.g. Amtrak), NPR, coastal flood insurance, and even air traffic control. I will not vote for deficit spending, any increase in the debt ceiling, or any increase in federal spending

Pat McGeehan: Real crisis is $17T in debt and future unfunded liabilities

Within 24 hours of this debt resolution sailing through the Congress, over $350 billion were borrowed--and the government's debt now officially stands well over $17 trillion. This is to say nothing of the untold trillions of dollars in unfunded liabilities the American taxpayer is expected to cover well into the future. As staggering as these numbers may be, very few in Washington DC understand the magnitude of this national dilemma.

This predicament grows even more dangerous [because the] deficit is no longer coming from real "borrowed" money. Very few foreigners are loaning money to the American government now; the largest buyer of American debt has now become the Federal Reserve.

Pat McGeehan: The Fed printing money for debt causes inflation

When the Fed steps in as the "lender of last resort", and buys US government debt, new dollars are being created out of thin air. In essence, the only thing the Fed does have at its disposal is the printing-press, and this has become the new norm in Washington.

Turning to the printing-press has real consequences for the average American: massive devaluation of the dollar. As more dollars are printed-up by the Federal Reserve, the average American will find that their purchasing power will go down. This can already be seen--at the grocery store or the gas pump. In a way, this represents a tax. The inflation tax