I have to confess that I have a hard time watching the State of the Union address. That’s true no matter who’s delivering it. But I expect that tonight will be particularly painful, as we can expect even more pandering than usual. I assume we will hear the president propose many non-solutions on guns and terrorism, read off a laundry list of crony programs, and tout the usual unicorn policies in which government spending is supposed to trigger jobs and economic growth. (If you think about it, tonight would make for a good drinking game!)
Unfortunately, this will distract from actually talking about fixing the financial path the country is on. The relatively low deficits (especially compared to the $1 trillion deficits of Obama’s first term) give the president and Congress the perfect excuse to continue kicking the can down the road and not addressing our debt problem.
And yet, as CQ reminded its readers yesterday, debt and financial imbalance should be a priority:
The debt held by the public — the accumulation of all the annual deficits — is now equivalent to about 74 percent of the economy’s annual gross domestic product. That’s the highest percentage in U.S. history except for a seven-year period around World War II, the CBO says.
But the long-term outlook is far gloomier. After a few years of reprieve, an aging population and rising health care costs are on course to push debt, as a percentage of GDP, back to — and then above — its current high level. In 25 years, without any changes in current law, federal debt held by the public would exceed 100 percent of GDP, the CBO says. Large amounts of federal borrowing often crowd out private investment, while soaring interest payments leave ever-dwindling amounts of money for needed government programs.
I am also curious to see if the Republicans’ response to the speech will make any mention of fixing our debt problem. Based on last year, I am not holding my breath.
Barack Obama's State of the Union Address -- Don't Expect Substance