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Debt watch: 16 trillion reasons to worry about the future
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09/06/12 10:50 AM ET
When Concerned Veterans for America polled U.S. military veterans last month to learn more about their top concerns, the economy and the national debt overwhelmingly topped the list. Seventy-two percent of vets cited these as their top issues for 2012.
As a military veteran myself, I know most vets and uniformed military personnel look at that number in disbelief, and with no small amount of anxiety for what it means for our nation’s future. Those who have served in uniform understand instinctively that a weak economy and a large debt are dangerous because they undermine our ability to provide for our nation’s security.
Yet to watch last week’s Republican National Convention and now this week’s Democratic National Convention, one would be hard-pressed to know with any clarity what—specifically—either major party plans to do about the debt. The Republicans featured a debt clock in Tampa, which I applaud—our debt crisis needs even more attention. But the devil is in the details, and there weren’t many offered up from the podium. And so far in Charlotte, the Democrats have barely mentioned the topic.
At Concerned Veterans for America, we want the final two months of campaign 2012 to be focused on the big threat to our nation’s future—our $16 trillion national debt. This week, we released a new web video we produced to draw further attention to that shameful total:
In an election season, the campaigns will be focused on pointing fingers and casting blame for how we got to this point. But the blame game only goes so far; what we need is solutions for the future. Here’s hoping Americans will join us in putting pressure on candidates to address the debt now— before it’s too late.
Hegseth is the CEO of Concerned Veterans for America, and the former executive director of Vets for Freedom. He is an infantry officer in the Army National Guard, and has served tours in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay.
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