Take debt seriously

William Betz’s Jan. 24 letter, “What to cut and raise,” was spot on in noting the feebleness of current congressional goals for raising revenue and cutting spending compared to the kinds of meaningful goals that would make real differences in reducing our national deficit.

These latter goals would involve paying our own way and then some starting, immediately, with a notion foreign to too many of us, and as a consequence most of our elected representatives, who seem more than willing to trade personal political success by deferring the pain to those who follow us.

They would also involve paying less attention to recent military pleas to avoid a “hollow force” (“We are after all ending two wars.” – William Betz), and including the U.S. Department of Defense as an eminently appropriate partner in sharing the burden of deficit recovery with everyone else. Most importantly, they would embrace taking an unselfish and more sustainable long view of our nation’s financial health.

For a taste of the urgency of getting on with it, visit www.usdebtclock.org, a not-for-the-faint-of-heart site that should be required daily viewing for our national leadership.

David Fietz

Spokane