The Federal Debt has gone up every year since 1957. The presumption is the reason the borrowing has gone up for 52 years in a row is government spending. You can view the history of Federal Debt by clicking on the link, Historical Federal Debt, on the right.
The Debt is now over $11.4 trillion dollars and the growth is not slowing. There were instances in the past 52 years where a “Balanced Budget” was achieved. Yet for some reason the Federal Debt continued to climb. So rather than spend time debating what the budget is we need to establish a Federal Debt Limit.
We personally have to manage our finances in a manner that allows for unforseen circumstances and can not expect our children to pay off any debts we are not able to take care of. Our government needs to operate the same way.
We need a Constitutional Amendment that puts a limit on Federal Debt that can only be increased in a National Emergency.
The debt limit could only be increased in case of a National Emergency declared by Congress. A National Emergency is defined as an attack on the United States by a sovereign nation. Then Congress has to declare war on that nation and institute a national military draft at the same time. Then a National Emergency can be declared and the federal debt limit can be increased.
“I place economy among the first and most important republican virtues, and public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared. To preserve our independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.”
Thomas Jefferson, third US President, architect and author (1743-1826)