Guest ContributorUnited States Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) at a forum Tuesday in Phoenix said math, not political expediency, should guide policy decisions in Congress if the nation is going to get its fiscal house in order and prevent the national debt and its interest payments from overtaking other government responsibilities like Medicare and Social Security.
Speaking alongside fellow panelists former U.S. Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.), Yuma County Supervisor Jonathan Lines, and former Arizona state treasurer Eileen Klein, Schweikert had harsh words for members of Congress in both parties and the news media who aren’t willing to speak truthfully about the negative effects of chronic borrowing and the national debt.
“Every dime a member of congress votes on is borrowed money,” Schweikert said. “Interest will be the most expensive thing in your government. You’re basically an insurance company with an army.”
A consistent fiscal hawk throughout his career, Schweikert often reserves time on the House floor to make presentations complete with charts and graphs that illustrate the deep challenges facing the government’s books.
He returned to form on Tuesday, zooming through a slide presentation that offered a bleak view of the prospects of the U.S. fiscal environment if lawmakers in both parties fail to act.
Many of the fiscal issues facing the country are rooted in demographics, Schweikert said, and the country’s declining birth rate.
- The country could have more deaths than births in 7-8 years.
- Pay-as-you-go programs depend on new workers in the workforce to pay into programs to support existing beneficiaries.
- Senior poverty is likely to rise.
- Financing Social Security and Medicare will consume larger and larger amounts of the government’s budget.
One potential way to address the problems, he said, is to shift to a talent-based immigration system.
“We should be running around the world stealing every hardworking, smart person who wants to do things,” Schweikert said.
As for international students studying in the U.S., Schweikert wants to keep them here.
“Educate them here and send them home? That’s insane,” he said
After presenting the daunting challenges, Schweikert said, “It’s fixable, just the scale of it is hard. A majority of the population cannot see 12 zeroes in their head.”
To get much needed reform, however, voters will have to demand it.
“Maybe it’s time the public starts demanding that members of Congress start telling the truth,” he said.
Joseph Kavetsky
Sierra Ciaramella
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