WSFA.com: News Weather and Sports for Montgomery, AL.Editorial: Debt Crisis

Editorial: Debt Crisis

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By Collin Gaston - bio | email

  • Editorials

  • Friday, May 18 2012 7:20 PM EDT2012-05-18 23:20:53 GMT
    If you text and drive it's a matter of WHEN and not IF you will be involved in an accident. The odds are stacked against you when your eyes and hands are more focused on your cell phone than they are
    If you text and drive it's a matter of WHEN and not IF you will be involved in an accident.  The odds are stacked against you when your eyes and hands are more focused on your cell phone than they are the other motorists on the roadways.

  • Tuesday, May 15 2012 7:20 PM EDT2012-05-15 23:20:31 GMT
    On our editorial suggesting that the governor raise taxes to fund Medicaid, we received these comments: "If the budget is passed at this severely cut rate, the shortage of physicians, hospitals, and clinics
    On our editorial suggesting that the governor raise taxes to fund Medicaid, we received these comments:

  • Tuesday, May 1 2012 7:20 PM EDT2012-05-01 23:20:35 GMT
    If your commute includes I-85 in the mornings I'm sure you've noticed men alongside the roadways picking up trash and road debris and thought to yourself "who would want to do that?"
    If your commute includes I-85 in the mornings I'm sure you've noticed men alongside the roadways picking up trash and road debris and thought to yourself "who would want to do that?"

  • Friday, April 20 2012 7:20 PM EDT2012-04-20 23:20:42 GMT
    For the next sixty seconds I want you to give yourself permission to push pause on whatever you are doing and listen and reflect for a moment. I did this recently after reading an article titled "Top five

  • Wednesday, April 18 2012 7:27 PM EDT2012-04-18 23:27:31 GMT
    Representative Christopher John England (Tuscaloosa) has sponsored a bill in the Alabama legislature that would allow convicted felons of drug crimes to receive food stamps under certain circumstances.
MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) -

Our nation's debt is currently north of $14 Trillion dollars. That's right TRILLION with 12 zero's. 

You might be thinking – no problem our government just passed "historic" budget cuts of $38 billion last week - this should fix everything and get us back on the track to solvency right?  Wrong.

Let's take a look at March 2011.  In March, according to the U.S. Treasury, the federal government grossed or took in $194 billion in tax revenue and paid out $65.8 billion in tax refunds thus netting $128.1 billion in tax revenue for March.  Great news right – we had a surplus of $128 billion in revenue and can fund programs, build roads, improve education and pay down debt? Wrong.

At the same time, the U.S. Treasury paid out a total of $1.1 trillion. When the $65.8 billion in tax refunds is deducted from that, the Treasury paid a net of $1 trillion in federal expenses for March.  That works out to 8.2 times more in spending than the $128 billion in net federal tax revenues taken in for the month.  We are spending money we do not have.

The time for a reality check is now. The line is long for those who do not  want increases in taxes, programs to be discontinued, schools to close or take a pay cuts but everyone has to realize that if we do not institute and support fundamental fiscal policy changes now – tomorrow will not be a better day for this great nation or this great state of Alabama.

We welcome your feedback. 

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