Don't borrow to pay debts

While Ms. Harrop in her Feb. 18 column is correct that the current budget debate should not be reduced to catchphrases, her opinion might be more respected if her grasp of economics went beyond the simplistic talking points she expresses to denigrate the catchphrases that seem to offend her.

She belittles those who bring attention to the fact that Social Security is paying out more than it takes in by reminding the reader of the Social Security Trust Fund whose “assets are invested in U.S. Treasury securities.” She then argues that these government bonds must be honored just as similar “debt obligations to the Chinese government.”

What she fails to comprehend is that these securities will be redeemed by the current administration using money generated by selling more securities to cover both the debt and the interest promised; a debt spiral that will destroy the value of the dollar and eventually the country.

In another paragraph, Ms. Harrop espouses that taxes be raised to pay for the debt. This thinking is akin to the wife or husband who has spent all the family's income and maxed out their credit cards, and then tells their spouse that they need to earn more money so the out-of-control spending can continue.

Ms. Harrop's positions are not “simplicity we can believe in” but simple-mindedness that we shouldn't believe in. The answer is not more “investment” based on more taxes and more borrowing as President Obama has put forth in his shortsighted budget proposal, but solid cuts in spending at all levels of government.

David Swanson

Elgin