An Open Letter To The President: Addressing Our Debt

Authored by Thomas W. Smith via RealClearPolitics,

Donald J. Trump
The Mar-a-Lago Club
1100 South Ocean Boulevard
Palm Beach, Florida

Dear President Trump:

I voted for you in all three of your presidential campaigns. The first time, I cast my vote with cautious optimism. The third time, with enthusiasm. And I contributed financially to your campaign.

You have achieved what few thought possible – a triumphant return, driven by a deep-seated belief among millions of Americans that only you can effectively challenge the entrenched political establishment. Your first 100 days were extraordinary, but if your presidency is to be remembered not just as bold but also historic, one challenge must rise above all others: – the national debt.

The national debt, currently $37 trillion, is the result of pervasive fiscal irresponsibility, accumulated over many decades. Our annual interest payments now exceed $1 trillion – more than we spend on our national defense. This is not just a financial burden. It is a threat to the survival of our country as a democratic republic.

Without immediate, decisive action, the consequences are predictable: more credit downgrades, more increases in interest rates, and crippling obligations to service the debt. What would happen to our great country if annual interest payments exceeded not just our defense budget but also Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare? Mr. President, if we are to remain a vibrant nation, this exploding national debt has to be attacked immediately and significantly. That will not happen without your leadership.

Sadly, the Republican Party has shown that it is not a reliable ally.

Even before Republicans regained control of the House, they held a secret vote. By a margin of 158 to 2 they brought back earmarks – the very same pork barrel spending practices that Speaker John Boehner put to bed. Since then, the Democratic Congress never dared to bring back earmarks.

House Republicans did.

The results were predictable, and immediate: $16 billion in earmarks. More than 7,500 pet projects. In the Senate, eight of the 12 largest earmarkers are Republicans. In the House, 48 of the top earmarkers are Republicans.

Here are the largest earmarkers:

• Sen. Susan Collins of Maine (population 1.4 million) secured $870 million in earmarks.
• Sen. Lisa Murkowski grabbed $851.1 million in earmarks.
• Sen. Mitch McConnell took nearly $500 million in earmarks.
• My own congressman, Brian Mast, walked away with $437 million in earmarks.

Obviously, eliminating pork barrel spending won’t, by itself, address the structural problems in Washington’s budget process – or make the “big, beautiful bill” currently being debated in Congress deficit-neutral. But if members of Congress can’t even control themselves, what kind of example do they set for the American people? How can politicians ask their fellow Americans to sacrifice when they won’t do it themselves?

Actions speak louder than words. Fiscal irresponsibility dominates the culture within Congress, within our government. That culture, obviously, will not change on its own. It can be changed. But only with your leadership.

Mr. President, fortunately, today you have a tool to attack waste, fraud, duplication, and incompetence. Because of the cloud, Big Data, and the Freedom of Information Act, you can deliver every government expenditure to every citizen’s cell phone, iPad, and computer. You can bring a new era to government, i.e., transparency. Mr. President, you can be the launch pad for transparency.

Imagine a government where every single taxpayer dollar that government spends is tracked and reported to the public. Imagine the cultural shift from secret votes, from wasteful spending to one where every government official knows their budgets will be scrutinized in detail.

Mr. President, here are several all-encompassing, culture-changing, deficit-attacking actions you can announce tomorrow:

1. Lead by example: Cut White House expenses by a defined percentage. Report the savings to the public every quarter.
2. Challenge Congress: Ask every member to cut their office and committee budgets. Suggest at least 10%. Publish a quarterly report on every senator and representative.
3. Eliminate pork-barrel projects: Call on Congress to abolish earmarks. Shine a light on every remaining earmarker until they fall in line.
4. Mobilize the bureaucracy: Instruct all agencies to focus on rooting out waste, fraud, duplication, and incompetence, and report the progress quarterly. Say explicitly that you will monitor progress and report the bold and expose the complacent.

Bringing transparency to government can do more than clean up wasted taxpayer dollars. It can rebuild trust. It can remind the American people that the government can still work for them. It will solidify your legacy as the chief executive who did not just talk about draining the swamp, you did it.

Imagine our country if we did not have to spend $1 trillion each year on interest payments. That is the future Americans deserve.

Mr. President, you have been given a historic mandate. You can leave office with a legacy as the president who did not just promise to “Make America Great Again,” but who actually did it. America cannot be made great again without addressing the greatest threat to our country’s survival as a democratic republic – the exploding national debt.

Respectfully,

Thomas W. Smith

Thomas W. Smith is the founder of Prescott Investors, Inc.