The national debt and entitlements add up to “the single biggest threat to our economic future,” according to Tom Donohue, head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s largest business lobbying group.
“The single biggest threat to our economic future … is our exploding national debt, driven by runaway deficit spending, changing demographics and unsustainable entitlements,” he said in his annual “State of American Business” address.
“The entitlement programs written and designed for an earlier era must be revised,” Donohue said.
Editor's Note: The Truth About the Economy — Government Documents Lead to Eerie Conclusion
“We’re not talking about cuts in absolute terms. We’re simply talking about slowing the rate of increase.”
Donohue zeroed in on spending cuts rather than more tax increases as the way to tackle deficit reductions.
Among the ideas he touted were using a different measure of inflation to change the way that cost-of-living increases are tacked onto entitlement payouts and comprehensive tax reform.
“Make no mistake. While there are solid economic and competitive reasons to pursue it, tax reform cannot be seen as a substitute for spending restraint,” Donohue cautioned.
The Washington Post reported Donohue called for tax reform that “broadens the base, lowers rates and simplifies compliance.”
Such reform “will turbo-charge our growth, create jobs and generate more revenues for government at all levels,” he said.
Donohue also called for immigration reform, increased efforts to boost trade and support for higher domestic energy production.
“Even with high unemployment, we have millions of job openings that go unfilled,” he said. “Either the workers come here to fill those jobs or the companies take all of their jobs somewhere else.”
The federal deficit reduction is the Chamber’s top 2013 objective.
Donohue questioned whether Washington lawmakers have the political will to rein in the debt.
"Do we have leaders with the courage to put the country first — ahead of their own careers, politics, ideologies and egos?" he asked.
Editor's Note: The Truth About the Economy — Government Documents Lead to Eerie Conclusion
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