Oct. 29 marked 94 years since Black Tuesday and the start of The Great Depression. But can our economy make it 100 years before collapsing? The short answer is that it is possible, but only if we, the average citizens from across the country, make it clear to those we elected that solving the national debt/spending crisis is a priority for us.

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Unfortunately, we have not yet collectively done so, and because of that, our elected officials have focused their efforts on other needs, leaving our national debt to grow to unprecedented and unsustainable levels and become one of our country’s most significant challenges.

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According to recent financial statements prepared by the U.S. Treasury Department, "the current fiscal path is unsustainable," and there has not yet been a federal agency that disagrees with that statement. The nation’s interest-bearing debt just passed $33 trillion and is expected to surpass $50 trillion within the next 10 years unless our elected officials take significant steps to curb federal spending. In 10 years both Social Security and Medicare Trust funds will be exhausted and benefits by law must be cut. It does not have to be that way.

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It is no longer a matter of “if” but rather “when” our nation will default on our debt. There will come a point when America’s investors lose confidence in our nation’s ability to repay these loans — and will stop lending to us. That is the moment we must fear; the crash that will result in global ramifications. The Great Depression pales in comparison to where our fiscal path will ultimately lead us if we continue on this path.

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If we let that catastrophic economic collapse occur, the consequences are unfathomable. Default on our debt would be inevitable and the worldwide monetary system would be in jeopardy. The Federal government could not meet its obligations, the economy would collapse. Any attempt to mitigate the impact, once the crisis hits, will be too late, because no one will trust that the United States, once the bastion of global economic dominance, will be able to pay them back.

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Economic crisis afoot: The fear of not being elected will lead us to a fiscal crisis. We can't let it

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In 1929, the collapse of our economy stemmed from the stock market crash, bank failures and misguided government policy — The Great Depression followed. Today, the biggest threat to our economy is our nation’s debt crisis. If our citizens do not understand the gravity of the situation and speak up, the politicians will continue down this dangerous path. Apathy and complacency are our greatest enemies.

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Elected officials will not act on dealing with the national debt problem without our support. Our founding fathers understood the danger of an all-powerful federal government and wisely structured a federal/state partnership with limited federal government. We need to return to that concept. 

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Our current elected officials are continuously “kicking this can down the road” with stopgap measures, creating a budget that barely lasts the next 45 days until the next near shutdown looms. They are failing terribly to focus on the future, going from election to election appeasing us, and never addressing the proper fiscal role of government.

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With the constant radical vitriol and the partisan blame game from both sides of the aisle, how can we ever expect these representatives to actually work together to tackle this very real issue? It is not a Republican or Democrat issue, it is an issue both parties’ presidents and congresses have allowed to grow to a critical mass and instead of trading barbs on the House floor and on social media, the people at the table must learn to work together, whether there is an R, a D or an I next to their name, to fix the very real issue that they, and their predecessors have and continue to contribute to.

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We must reach a point, before it is too late, where enough of the voting public demands more of our elected officials, leaving them with no choice but to tackle our nation’s spending addiction and resulting debt. Then and only then, will they all deliver on their promises to use their elected offices to do what is best for the country and save our nation.

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Leslie A. Rubin, a real estate developer, formerly a CPA, is the Founder and CEO of Main Street Economics, a 501(c)3 nonprofit educating Americans about the seriousness of the nation’s debt crisis. Under his leadership, the organization has helped to educate Americans about economics and the unsustainable fiscal path the United States is currently on and the urgency of stabilizing the debt before we crash into the iceberg. Visit https://www.mainstreeteconomics.org and click “Contact Congress” to let your representative know that you hold them responsible for saving our country from the debt bomb.

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