By John Ubaldi, “Ubaldi Reports”

The greatest threat to American national security is not from any external threat but from the ever increasing national debt which just crossed the $33 trillion plateau, but the really sad part nobody seems to even care!

In response to this national security crisis, Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget issued a statement; “The United States has hit a new milestone that no one will be proud of: our gross national debt just surpassed $33 trillion. Debt held by the public, meanwhile, recently surpassed $26 trillion. We are becoming numb to these huge numbers, but it doesn’t make them any less dangerous.

Retiring Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen stated in 2010 that “The most significant threat to our national security is our debt,” he told CNN “And the reason I say that is because the ability for our country to resource our military — and I have a pretty good feeling and understanding about what our national security requirements are — is going to be directly proportional — over time, not next year or the year after, but over time — to help our economy.

“That’s why it’s so important that the economy move in the right direction, because the strength and the support and the resources that our military uses are directly related to the health of our economy over time.”

Democrats and the Biden administration haven’t listened; as they have made the situation worse with all of their prolific spending over the past few years.

Republicans also shouldn’t crow as they were just as egregious when they controlled the levers of power.

Just this month the Congressional Budget Office reported that America’s deficit is going to double from last year when the fiscal budget ends on September 30th, putting the federal deficit at $2 trillion. All we get from both Republicans and Democrats are promises and nothing about real reforms; instead we always get the same rhetoric of how the other side is reckless in spending.

Both political parties have placed the country on this unsustainable path and it will take both political parties to get us out of this.

First, everyone always blames the problem on tax cuts that placed us in this predicament, except this is not based on evidence or facts. The CBO has stated the federal government received record amounts of revenue; unfortunately, Washington’s prolific spending is the real problem!

Previous tax cuts beginning with the Kennedy tax cuts of 1964, the Reagan tax cuts of 1981 & 86, the Bush 2001-03 tax cuts and the Trump tax cuts of 2017 all spurred economic growth, unfortunately the second element of reducing federal spending never materialized.

Many would mention the 1990’s as a period of reduced federal budget deficits which eventually became balanced at the end of the decade, but this was attributed to several factors.

The first being the Republican Party taking control of both branches of the Congress for the first time since the early 1950’s, the second was with divided government neither party could spend on domestic spending nor on national security. Other elements played a pivotal role such as the Welfare Reform Act of 1996.

This bill was put together in a bipartisan manner between Republicans and President Bill Clinton that forged and agreement, which placed welfare benefits into a time-limited benefit program, tied to a work requirement.  The passage of the welfare reform measure was one of the drivers of reducing the poverty rate, unfortunately this was short lived as President Obama and Democrats who when gaining control of both the House and Senate in 2006, removed work requirements upon receiving federal welfare benefits when assuming all levers of congressional and executive power in 2009.

This continued by the Biden administration by paying people not to work in response to the aftermath of the shutdown of the economy due to Covid-19.

The other factor was with divided government this allowed the U.S. economy to grow exponentially and with the advent of computer technology that permeated into every aspect impacting businesses expand across the country thus sending massive tax revenue to the U.S. treasury.

With the economy booming, Washington failed to address in reforming America’s entitlement system of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid with each Republican and Democratic administration kicking the can down the road for someone else to deal with.

America’s entitlement programs or mandatory accounts for roughly two-thirds of all federal spending, and because of rising interest rates, interest to finance the national debt is around $500 billion a year. If everything continues without any changes, this interest to finance the national debt jumps to $800 billion in 2025, which will be more then is spent on national defense.

In the 2000’s both Republican and Democratic administrations sent America off into “forever wars” throughout the Middle East and North Africa. This is where the partisanship comes out, but facts are facts both parties instituted these conflicts and members of both parties voted for these conflicts.

Neither Republican nor Democratic Administrations heeded the advice of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill who stated, “Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.”

These misguided adventures cost the U.S. trillions and the lives of thousands of American military lives.

While this military adventurism was going on, both Democratic and Republican administrations then forced the country to accept additional debt by pushing new entitlement programs that were spent utilizing borrowed revenue.

Democratic and Republican administrations along with their enablers in Congress forced to country to accept additional entitlement programs such as enhanced prescription drug plan into the Medicare system that wasn’t paid for.

A health care reform legislation that was supposed to reduce health care for Americans only to have it cost the nation more and provide less care, and with this came the monumental piece of legislation which overhauled how student obtain loans where issued and financed. Again this was supposed to reduce costs only to have it produce the opposite results costing taxpayers trillions.

The budgetary process in both the House and Senate is dysfunctional at best with continuing resolutions and last minute budget deals to keep the government open has been perpetrated for years. This has only increased deficit spending even now the government is facing a potential government shutdown if a deal isn’t reached by the end of the fiscal year.

Both sides blame each other but no serious discussion on how to reform spending nor how to ensure Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are solvent for future generations; instead both sides refuse to touch it.

As egregious as previous presidents have been on adding to the federal debt, the current administration is pushing spending to an astronomical level and forcing America to accept trillions spent on alternative energy which has proven to be a boondoggle.

If America doesn’t get its fiscal house in order, the nation’s national security will be in jeopardy. No nation can defeat America, but it seems the real enemy is Washington itself.