I'm 100% convinced this is the only way we'll ever get Federal gov't spending under control (ie: no more annual deficit spending) and the only chance we'll have to reduce the national debt over a reasonable period of time.
I've heard some of the talking heads say it could take 5 to 8 years to ratify a Balanced Budget Amendment, including Rand Paul. I don't believe it. The 26th amendment, providing 18 year olds with the right to vote in national elections, took 100 days to ratify. That was also the fastest time ever to ratify an amendment. On average, it takes about 1 to 2 years. (Note: it took over 200 years to ratify the 27th amendment!!)
What does it take to get this amendment going? The President has nothing to do with the process and Presidential approval is not required. We need 2/3 approval by both the House and Senate and 75% approval by the 50 states legislators.
Hopefully, after passing the recent debt ceiling increase (an immediate $2.4 trillion increase) and spending reduction of about the same amount (to be spread over 10 years - a joke), the Tea Partiers in Congress will start pushing hard to get a Balanced Budget Amendment approved, which was part of the deal. It will be difficult to get this approved since most Democrats don't support it. Why? Simply because it will prevent them from spending more money than we take in. It will severely restrict all of the funding for non-constitutional agencies and welfare programs that don't work and are rife with fraud and waste, It will eliminate their socialistic redistribution of wealth (re: Obama's comment to Joe the Plumber).
We the people need to actively support this by contacting your Congressional representatives. Once approved by Congress, start contacting your state reps. I truly believe this is the only answer to save our country and future generations from total financial disaster. We're already bankrupt.
How bad is it? If you haven't been paying much attention, our current national debt is around $14.6 trillion. The current annual deficit (amount spent vs amount taken in) is around $1.6 trillion. Next year's deficit is forecast to be slightly lower. These deficits increase our national debt since we have to borrow the money to pay the bills. So in the next 2 years, our debt will increase around $3 trillion for a total of $17.5 trillion +/-.
Obama's 10 year spending forecast includes deficits each and every year for the next 10 years. This will drive our debt up to somewhere in the neighborhood of $25 - $27 trillion. If the spending cuts in the recent deal actually materialize, the debt will be reduced by that amount (about $2 trillion). The expiration of the Bush tax cuts will also reduce the amount of debt, unless Congress spends these tax increases. Our current GDP is around $14 trillion, thus our current debt is about 100% of GDP. It'll be nearly 200% if nothing else changes. Greece's debt to GDP ratio is around 167%, but is dropping some because it is getting bailed out and some debt is being forgiven. Who will bail out the USA? Nobody. We need a Balanced Budget Amendment.
How much does all this debt cost us? Through June 2011 our interest expense so far is $386 billion for this fiscal year ending September 30, 2011. Interest cost will far exceed $400 billion by Sept 30, 2011. If interest rates rise, which they eventually will, and our debt rises to over $20 trillion, the annual interest expense will be over $1 trillion/year. This is outrageous. The only way to stop it is via a Balanced Budget Amendment. If not, you can expect your federal income taxes to go up dramatically.
Frank
