It's Time To Confront Our Exploding National Debt | Opinion

I am a concerned citizen, and it tears me apart to see the decline of our country. I believe the United States is in the mess that we are in today because our current group of leaders, from both parties, are more interested in their careers, their political alliances, and getting re-elected than they are in addressing the serious, long-term issues that we face.

One of these issues is our exploding national debt. It has snowballed under both Democratic and Republican presidents from $5 trillion in 2000 to $11 trillion (2008), $19 trillion (2016), and $26 trillion in 2020. The year-end 2024 projection is $35 trillion.

This national debt hurts every American. In simple terms, if we continue to ignore fiscal responsibility and allow the deficit to grow, we will see higher interest rates and higher rates of inflation.

We are drifting through another presidential election without any serious discussion of the national debt and without any of the major candidates talking about the facts, leveling with the American people, or proposing real solutions, especially those involving shared sacrifice.

My advice for the next president of the United States is the following:

—Save $300 billion a year by fixing our health care system. We spend almost twice as much on health care as any other nation's GDP, yet our results rank 55th of 57 industrialized countries for overall health as surveyed in the Bloomberg 2020 Health-Efficiency Index. The average Italian citizen today will live seven years longer than the typical American citizen—even though Italy's per capita health care spending is 50 percent of ours.

—Reduce defense spending by $200 billion a year. We represent 4 percent of the global population, yet spend 38 percent of global defense dollars. Any politician who runs for office while calling for lower defense spending would be labeled weak. In reality, they should be labeled strategic, courageous, and visionary.

—Save $40 billion a year by reducing our prison population. The U.S. has double the prison population per capita of Russia, five times the jail count of the U.K., and nine times that of Germany. By 2028, we could reduce our prison population by 50 percent and save $40 billion annually without increasing crime.

—Scrap the cap on Social Security contributions. This simple move would raise $190 billion a year and address the growing income inequality in our country by strengthening benefits for lower-income workers.

—Increase the federal gas tax by a dollar a gallon. This would raise $190 billion annually to pay for improved infrastructure. We have not had the political courage to raise the gas tax since 1992. It's time.

—Raise $40 billion a year by taxing all income the same, whether it is earned, passive, or portfolio income.

—Save $25 billion a year by changing our gun control laws to restrict access to assault weapons. Every year about 130,000 people are shot in America. Improve our gun laws and fewer people will get shot, fewer will need medical care, and fewer will need to go on disability.

—Change our campaign finance laws to eliminate contributions to candidates from businesses, unions, and other organizations that do not vote. This one move would focus our elected officials on making decisions in the best long-term interest of the United States.

As a nation, we stand at a fork in the road. One road is entitled, "More of the Same." If we head down that road, we will continue to spend money with little regard for the deficit and the long-term financial health of the nation. We will continue down a path toward national bankruptcy.

The other road is called "Humility." It's a productive journey in which we acknowledge that we face a major financial crisis, muster the courage to focus on the facts, and make financial decisions in the best long-term interest of the United States. This road will set our nation on a path to financial stability, help us reach our potential as a country, and make all of us worthy of the title, "Citizen of the United States."

John P. Burke is CEO of Trek Bicycle. His new book is, A Bold Plan for America.

The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.