If controlling government debt can save the economic health of the country, what's the plan?"

The fight is over whether or not to expand the debt ceiling to stop Congress and the President from continuing their reckless spending. Superficially it appears the Republicans will draw the line. No big budget cuts, no approval for a higher debt ceiling. Don't be fooled, both parties need the spending to continue and the cuts they discuss are far too small. Here is how their reckless spending will effect you:

If America doesn't get its financial house in order and continues its skyrocketing military costs, we will go broke in 5 to 7 years or sooner if the cost to pay the interest on the debt already in place goes sky-high, which it easily could do. As the government gets closer to going broke, it will victimize you and your family with runaway inflation as it will print much more money to pay its bills. Even now food, gas and clothing costs you a lot more than it did a year ago and that's during a Recession, when prices often fall.

Thus far the Republican plan to slash the budget is to continue substantial tax cuts for the wealthy, extend the tax subsidies for the oil companies, which collectively made $35 billion in profits last quarter, stop funding Planned Parenthood and Public Broadcasting, the savings of which would be less than a month of the Iraq War and to phase out Medicare for those 55 and under replacing it with government partially subsidized private insurance.

The Democrats have no plan. Meanwhile, both parties avoid discussing the elephant in the room, military spending and the wars because neither wants to appear "soft on terrorism," nor confront the huge unemployment that will come from laying off hundreds of thousands of military contractor employees. Those jobs are the biggest taxpayer funded welfare program our nation has ever seen. Yet to avoid bankruptcy, we're going to have to cut our military machine in half and end our wars or we must raise taxes sharply to pay for it.

Does this sound too radical to you? Do you think going broke can't happen here?  Since 1995, the last time the U.S. had a major debt ceiling confrontation, its debt has mushroomed from $5 trillion to nearly $15 trillion. It's almost tripled and is spiraling ever higher! And we are already by far the world's biggest debtor nation desperate to borrow more.

For now, the U.S. can sell its debt in part because the Fed is buying $19 billion a week in Treasurys by printing the money out of thin air. But what happens in June if the Fed ends its latest stimulus program of buying these Treasurys? Will investors step in and buy far more U.S. government debt than they do now? And if so, will they do it at today's interest rates or demand a higher rate of return?

My intent is not to scare you but to inform you and strongly encourage you to raise your voice for fiscal sanity. It's not enough for us to cast our votes, we have to get involved at a time when we can still make a difference. Otherwise this crazy spending under both political parties will sink us.

Dick