ABOUT THE

Inflation-Fighting Fiscal Responsibility U.S. Amendment

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The US deficit is growing out of control. Inflation is at a forty-year high. You have a voice in this process. Take action to ‘Let U.S. Vote!’

Soaring National Debt

According to the CBO’s 2021 Long-Term Budget Outlook, growing deficits are forecast to expand federal debt dramatically over the next 30 years. As borrowing increases, payments on the debt are projected to “more than triple in relation to the size of the economy,” and to surpass discretionary spending by 2031. If current law remains unchanged and federal debt continues to rise as predicted, the CBO anticipates suppressed economic output, reduction in U.S. household income, the increased likelihood of an economic crisis, and less fiscal space for policymakers to respond to national challenges.

In January of 2022, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned, “…We’re on an unsustainable path. Debt is not at an unsustainable level, but the path is unsustainable meaning it’s growing faster than the economy, meaningfully faster than the economy. We have to address that over time. We will address it over time. And the better way to do it is soon.”

Crushing Inflation

According to Jeb Hensarling, former US Representative and Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, the inflationary conditions plaguing the American economy are directly related to the rapidly expanding national debt. Rep. Hensarling explains that the Federal Reserve financed recent trillion-dollar deficits by purchasing Treasury debt, and then simply adding a new set of credits to its books.” Because of the additions of these credits,” Hensarling said, “in two years the Fed’s balance sheet has doubled to almost $9 trillion, creating a risk of significant and sustained inflation.”

However, the soaring inflation rate over the last year is just the latest symptom of an underlying debt crisis. Hensarling points to a debt to GDP ratio of 119%, a threat to the dollar as the world’s reserve currency, as well as underfunded and failing trust funds like Medicare Part A and Social Security which will run out of money in 2026 and 2033 respectively.

Compounding the problem is the fact that the interest rate hikes needed to control inflation will increase the costs of servicing the national debt to above $1 trillion a year. That’s a trillion dollars in taxpayer money for which Americans get nothing. A trillion in funds that could have been spent on national defense, revitalizing Social Security, or response to national emergencies.

“We’ve had years of denial, delay and neglect in confronting the unsustainable national debt,” said Hensarling. “Today’s high rate of inflation is simply a foreshadowing of what could come if the U.S. is forced to monetize the bulk of its national debt. Reduced economic growth, a diminished national defense, insolvent social safety-net programs and recession loom as well.”

Read Debt and Inflation Threaten U.S. Security in the Wall Street Journal

All Sides Agree: A Fiscal Responsibility Amendment is

A Bi-Partisan Issue