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Thingish Things

The Disappearing Debt Issue

Written By: William F. B. O'Reilly - Sep• 16•11

I don’t care what anyone says, debt is the number-one issue in America. Polls say otherwise. They consistently report that the issue is jobs, but it’s debt as far as I can see. It should stay front-and-center on the national radar. 

I can hear it when talking to people on the campaign trail. I hear it from young people, who, as a group, backed President Obama in droves three years ago.

Unemployment is the screaming compound fracture; debt is the stomach cancer. The fracture is a triage winner no doubt, but, when push comes to shove, most people aren’t suffering from it. We all have the latter illness, and it’s eating away at our innards.  

I have long thought that the reality of our national debt — it will be more than $24 trillion when my youngest child is in high school (2021) — would awake young people to fiscal conservatism, and I am anecdotally seeing that happen. My fourteen-going-on-twenty-seven-year-old daughter told me last night that her friends are joining a high school Young Republican Club. In other words, it has become cool to identify as Republican — in an area that backed Barack Obama over John McCain with more than 65% of the vote (they must be the ones denuding area Subaru wagons of their factory-added Obama stickers.)

I can’t help but think, whether those kids know it or not, that debt is the underlying reason. It is the single greatest threat to their future. It affects all things — our world status, economic growth, the cost of college loans and mortgages, tomorrow’s social programs, the future of the U.S. Military, etc., etc., etc…. 

If I were to receive a call from a pollster today and be asked, “what is the single most important issue facing our nation today, jobs or debt?, I  might think of the struggling, unemployed and sympathetically answer “jobs.” But I’d be lying. I love and worry for my children more than anyone else. My truthful answer would be “debt.” I suspect I am not alone in that. 

Curious to know what other people think…

 

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4 Comments

  1. Daniel Suib says:

    I think the biggest problem is our politians. They all forgot how to tell the truth. It’s not about helping the country anymore. It’s about staying in or obtaining power, regardless of what is said to do it. I am in awe (not the good kind) of Perry. How in Gods name, yes the God that he puts front and center at every turn of the road, can he stand up in front of his party, the country and the world and say he is against bailouts? I don’t understand what side of the mouth he is talking from. He bashed the first bailout ($800 Billion) because it didn’t create jobs nationally, but claimed he created jobs in Texas at the same time. Then he bashed the second bailout, and again said he created jobs in Texas…at the same time. Is anyone taking him to task on these comments or his points of view in this campaign?

    In reality, he didn’t create the jobs…the government created the jobs because the majority of the jobs created…were government jobs. He liked the bailout…because he balanced his budget in Texas with $6 Billion of the bailout his state received.

    Bill…our biggest problem isn’t one specific issue, although I do agree with you that debt is out first and foremost killer here. It’s the ability to find leaders that can deal with the issues…honestly. ANd that’s on both sides of the table…

    Just my opinion…

  2. Daniel Suib says:

    God Save the Queen…

  3. Your Friend says:

    The real problem in America is stupidity, but I don’t want to go too far into that. Suffice it to say that most people, present company included, don’t know jack sh*t about economics. More jobs = less debt.

    http://www.slate.com/id/2304110/

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