Federal Government Has ‘Grown Too Big, Promised Too Much, Subsidized Too Many,’ Warns Former GAO Boss
The United States is likely to face a debt crisis within the next five years unless Congress undertakes serious fiscal reforms, says a former comptroller general who is urging lawmakers to treat the budget and deficit with the seriousness it deserves.
“The federal government has grown too big, promised too much, subsidized too many, undercut states’ rights, and lost control of the budget,” David Walker, who led the Government Accountability Office from 1998 until 2008, told members of the House Budget Committee on Wednesday.
Unless Congress puts the country on a different fiscal course, Walker believes there is a 70 percent chance of a serious debt crisis before the end of the decade. That crisis would have “serious adverse economic security, national security, diplomatic, and domestic tranquility consequences,” he warned, adding that the middle class would “be affected the most on a relative basis” if standards of living are suddenly hit with a debt-induced shockwave.
This week’s hearing was intended to highlight bipartisan agreement on the seriousness of the federal government’s fiscal problems, said Rep. Jodey Arrington (R–Texas), the committee’s chairman.
“We’ve got major fiscal problems and a completely unsustainable fiscal trajectory. I haven’t heard anyone, Democrat or Republican, witness or member, that [sic] doesn’t accept that fact,” he said. “We won’t know when the dominoes fall on us in a sovereign debt crisis, it’s going to be difficult to put the pieces back together and maintain our global leadership.”
Those remarks echo warnings issued in recent years by governmental entities like the GAO and the Congressional Budget Office, as well as outside groups like the Penn Wharton Budget Model. Since 2015 the gross national debt has doubled, from $18 trillion to over $36 trillion. Debt held by the public, which most economists consider the more significant measure, sits at more than $28 trillion, or 99 percent of GDP. Deficits of nearly $2 trillion are expected for the foreseeable future.
Douglas Elmendorf, the economist and dean of the school of government at Harvard University, who was invited to speak at the hearing by Democrats, also stressed the need for imm
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