More than a few people have said that I’m the boy who cries wolf. The reason is my decades-long concern with the ever-growing U.S. government debt.
For years — in Congress and as a governor — I have sounded the alarm about our federal government’s corrosive habit of spending more than it takes in and its need to borrow ever more money to plug that gap. Today, the federal government budget deficit is $1.8 trillion, and the outstanding government bonds and other forms of borrowing — the national debt — totals $36 trillion.
And yet the republic still stands, I am constantly reminded. “John, what’s the big deal? A little debt doesn’t hurt. The government can handle it.”
Until it can’t. And when things finally turn for the worse, the debt will be the wolf that doesn’t just eat me, but all of us.
I’m a fiscal conservative and believe that responsibly managing the public’s money is one of the top priorities for elected leaders. I chaired the House Budget Committee in the late 1990s when the federal budget was balanced for the first time since 1969. As a governor, I balanced Ohio’s budget every year — including filling a 20 percent budget shortfall I inherited when I took office. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it.
When government spending is lower, taxes can fall and people and businesses have more money to spend as they choose. That helps grow the economy. In Ohio, spending restraint helped us fill the state’s rainy-day fund and cut taxes by $5 billion, a trend that has continued since I left office. Ohio’s economy is stronger for it.
Additionally, when government spending is kept in check, it reduces the amount of money government must borrow and, consequently, leaves more capital in the marketplace for use by the private sector for investment and job creation.
And, perhaps, just as important, with less need to borrow, we are less dependent upon foreign nations — including many we consider adversaries — to buy U.S. government bonds. Yes, many foreign governments buy our bonds — China is the second-largest holder after Japan — and finance our excessive spending.
What happens, however, if foreign countries choose to stop loaning us money for fear that we won’t be able to pay it back? This could force us to pay higher and higher rates of return to get all the money we need, which would only add to the debt. Being so dependent on nations with their own interests and agendas is not a secure position for the long term.
It doesn’t need to be this way.
On Election Day, voters sent a resounding message — they want a new direction. So, with a new team preparing to take command of the White House and Congress, now is the time to recognize the vulnerabilities created by our national debt and excessive spending — and do something about it.
It takes discipline, planning, the willingness to make hard choices and, yes, bipartisanship to make big changes. As much as new leaders always feel like the world is theirs, the reality is that Congress is very narrowly divided. Votes from across the aisle will be needed to get anything done.
Our national debt is the wolf lurking in the forest, waiting to pounce. It is not a phantom problem, and it will not go away. The giant reset of this election gives us a chance to do something about it and make the choices that can unleash the cascade of benefits of greater fiscal responsibility — lower taxes, lower interest rates and greater national financial security.
Washington’s new leaders should act swiftly with meaningful, sustainable spending reduction, entitlement reform and debt reduction — and not fear bipartisanship if that’s what it takes. It won’t be easy, but the debt’s hunger is only growing, and it won’t stop unless we act quickly and decisively.
John R. Kasich served as the governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019 and was a member of the House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001.
