On the recordDecember 3, 2014
I am discouraged to stand here and to announce a milestone that we reached recently, a very discouraging milestone, and that was in the last few days we have now surpassed $18 trillion in debt. If you want to know how much money that is, take every American taxpayer, from the young man who just got his first job to every mother and father who are struggling to take care of their families, and give them a bill for $150,000. It is simply unsustainable. If we continue down this current path, we will commit fiscal national suicide by our spending and our debt. Remember, a nation that is bankrupt cannot provide for the security of its people, a nation that is bankrupt cannot provide for the needy among them, and a nation that is bankrupt cannot provide for the children in the next generation. Now is the time to restore fiscal sanity. We must have the courage to reclaim the American Dream. Tax reform, entitlement reform, and a balanced budget--we must have the courage to make these a reality. But we can fix this. We must fix this. I hope we will have the courage to do this, even if it is hard. ____________________
