To the Editors:
In his article on the national debt ("National debt poses greatest threat to the United States," October 22), John Dale Grover '14 suggests that the United States has "yet to start a serious plan" to bring its long-term fiscal situation under control. That is simply untrue.
The single greatest threat to the long-run solvency of the U.S. is the projected escalation in health care costs. Indeed, if we had the same per-capita health care spending as countries like France, Germany and Canada, the long-run deficit would be a non-issue. One of the central aims of President Obama's health care reform effort was to limit health care cost inflation by rationalizing particularly inefficient aspects of our current system. The bill succeeded in this respect—ask the Congressional Budget Office. But it might have been even more successful had Republicans worked constructively with Democrats to extend the cost-controlling provisions even further. Instead, they accused Democrats of plotting to implement death panels for the sole purpose of euthanizing grandma.
We can solve our long-run fiscal problems. To do so, Republicans will need to shut down their circus show and become a responsible political party again. But now that the Party of Lincoln has officially become the Party of Beck, Limbaugh and O'Donnell, I'm not holding my breath.
It's going to be a bumpy ride.
Sincerely,
Aditya Ranganath '09
San Diego, CA