Published in The Hill on October 16, 2013.
Article summary below, click here to read full article.
By Lt. General Robert Gard
A powerful U.S. military is indispensable to our national security; but in many ways, our bloated military budget has become a direct threat to the very security it is designed to create and protect.
Meanwhile, the federal government is quickly approaching the debt limit; Treasury Secretary Jack Lew estimates that the U.S. will hit that limit no later than October 17th. Raising the limit is essential to allow payment for expenditures the Congress has already made.
Moody’s economist, Mark Zandi, made the reality of the debt ceiling very clear to a House panel: “You need to raise the debt limit. There’s no other option…. Otherwise, it’s disastrous. It’s counterproductive to your own goals because it’s going to result in a recession, bigger deficits and [it will] raise the debt.”