It didn’t take long for us to get into this terrible state of debt. When Bill Clinton left the WhiteHouse he was so proud that he left the nation with a surplus of funds. Here we are eleven yearslater with a debt that threatens our very existence as a nation. People this is a very serious matterand we all have to pay attention to it and resolve it. Instead of improving our state of affairsCongress and the White House are posturing and, in fact, it is getting far worse. At the end offiscal year 2008 (September 30, 2008) our debt was $5.8 trillion. At the end of fiscal year 2010,the United States had amassed over $9 trillion. We are expected to add another $1.5 trillion atthe end of this year.

We don’t even have a budget to work with. This nation has not had a formal budget for the lasttwo and one half years. It is irresponsible! We all have to pay our personal bills or risk goinginto financial ruin. The same applies for a nation. Our creditors expect to get paid and if wedefault the whole world will begin to withdraw any confidence in our word and wealth. TheUnited States would become a pariah. There is much precedence. Remember the mighty SovietUnion? It fell not by war or revolution but because they became broke which is where we aregoing if we do not get our fiscal business under control.

All it takes is discipline. Governor Mitch Daniels turned the fiscal state of Indiana for the betterand he gave this simple explanation: “We spent less money than the money we received.”That sounds pretty simple but the United States federal government is having a lot of troublefollowing that simple rule. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that tax revenue will risefrom its current level to 18% of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). That is a problem in thatour federal spending will rise to 24%. Thus, we will be spending 33% more than we make. It isa definite disaster if we maintain status quo.

What’s even worse is that we may exceed our legal debt limit level. In the past, we just ignoredthat law by simply increasing the debt limit. That doesn’t solve a thing but, in fact, worsens thesituation. Come this August 2, 2011 we will exceed our debt limit. Imagine you going over yourVisa or Master Card limit. The card would cut you off and may cease giving any more creditwith you forever. The US biggest creditors are China, Japan and Saudi Arabia. These countrieshave historically been not too friendly with the United States and it is unlikely that they will giveus a “pass” if we default on our debt limit. China has already warned us to get our act together.

Equally troubling is the tenuous state of our AAA credit rating. The big scorer of national creditratings is Moody’s. Moody’s has already warned us twice to get our fiscal policy in order – have a balanced budget, a positive policy and don’t exceed your debt limit. Our ignoring the warningsis going to have dire effects. For the sake of our national security, will Washington, DC act in aresponsible manner? Our precious future is on the line. At the rate we are going within ten yearswe will be spending $1 trillion or more per year, just to pay the interest on our national debt.

Raising taxes won’t do it. We already are the second highest nation in the world with corporatetaxes which in the end are passed onto to us, the consumers. Income and corporate tax increaseswill kill more jobs and too many Black communities are already suffering from record levelunemployment rates. That would only transfer the problem. The issue is to cut the outrageousspending levels that our federal government commits at an ever growing rate.

We should lift the age requirement for Social Security eligibility. The discussion has beengoing on for at least thirty years. Raise it already! Look at every federal agency and beginreducing the spending. Even for Defense? Especially for Defense! It is almost half of our totalbudget and is filled with the most unbelievable waste. We could save much without hurting ournational security. Let’s run our treasury responsibly and then enjoy our AAA credit rating, andencourage our businesses to again invest in America. Our Fortune 500 companies are holdingback trillions of dollars because of our fiscal uncertainty.

Yes America, we have a serious problem and like our great legacy let’s begin to deal with it.Our children, grandchildren and their children are depending on us. There is no more an optionto ignore it.

Mr. Alford is the co-founder, President/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce®.Website: www.nationalbcc.org. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .