Letter: The federal government is spending irresponsibly

The debate: “Is the federal government spending too much?” [Forefront: “Is the federal government spending too much,” June 11].

The short answer is “yes.” Federal government spending has racked up the national debt to $28.2 trillion, for which both parties are responsible. Rep. Hollingsworth states that this approximates to $200K/American household. True figures are actually worse than that. As 56.7% of Americans pay taxes, that number is closer to $400,000. According to him, this year it will require $328 billion to pay for the debt service alone.

In the first six months, the current administration has proposed initiatives that will add an additional $6 trillion to the national debt. According to the president’s tax increase proposal, $1.5 trillion of additional revenue will be generated over 10 years. Clearly, this will not cover the proposed initiatives or even be enough to service our existing debt. The math doesn’t make sense.

Increased debt will cause interest rates to rise and trigger inflation. That will affect every American regardless of his/her income. It will especially affect retirees who live off a fixed income.

The federal government wants to tackle multiple initiatives, including infrastructure, clean air, ‘free’ education and many more. Let’s prioritize and take one project at a time. If that is finished successfully, then move on to the next high priority initiative.

When I immigrated to the United States from India many years ago, my father advised me on several topics, one of the most important being financial responsibility. “Spend only the money that you have. If you have to borrow, make sure that you pay it back as quickly as you can. Never ever leave any debt for your children or grandchildren to pay.” That advice has stayed with me all these years and my financial decisions have considered that burden.

To every politician—especially those representing the state of Indiana—each time you support additional spending on a project, also bring forward which program will cease or where the funds will come from. We, the taxpayers, don’t have bottomless pockets.

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Nalin Shah