DANVILLE — U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita conducted a town hall meeting earlier this week at the Hendricks County 4-H Fairgrounds and Conference Complex here. His focus was on the country's anemic economy and skyrocketing debt.
"The economy's not getting better," said Rokita, who replaced Steve Buyer as representative of Indiana's Fourth Congressional District, including all of Hendricks County. "We have significant issues."
The Republican cited several statistics he's learned as one of the few freshman congressmen serving on the House Budget Committee.
Among those: Every calendar day after July 27 is borrowed spending by the federal government and the feds now borrow 42 cents of every dollar they spend. At this point the United States has about $14.3 trillion in debt. Unlike during World War II, when Americans bought government bonds to pay for more than half of the war, almost half of this country's debt now is owed to foreign countries - China being the biggest. Rokita says military leaders now say the No. 1 security threat to our nation is not terrorism, but our debt.
"Our national security is compromised by this tremendous debt load we've incurred and continue to add to," said Rokita, who served two terms as Indiana secretary of state.
He doesn't exactly lay the blame on any one person or political party. Rokita noted every president as far back as John F. Kennedy has run a budget deficit during his term.
"Our debt issue is not a partisan problem," he said. "There is no one party or president that is responsible for the mess we find ourselves in."
Rokita did, however, add the caveat that the problem has been exacerbated over the last two and half years - the duration Barack Obama has occupied the White House. It's estimated that Obama has run a nearly 8 percent budget deficit so far, which is far and away more than Ronald Reagan, the next highest at 4.3 percent.
"There is spending going on in this country that blows away the spending we've had heretofore," Rokita said.
He says it's only going to get worse unless some serious reforms are made. Specifically, Rokita addressed how the baby boomers are starting to retire. It's a highly populated generation that threatens to overwhelm social programs like Medicare and Social Security, both of which are already paying out more than they're taking in.
Rokita agrees with the notion that those who paid into these programs should get their benefits when the time comes. But current conditions make these safety nets unsustainable. He advocates means testing for both and indexing the retirement age for Social Security.
"Politicians before me made promises in these programs that can't possibly be sustained," Rokita said.
The Republican congressman, who has two children ages 3 and 1, says he views political decisions and votes he makes through the lens of how they'll affect his children and future grandchildren. He encouraged the full house at his town hall meeting to do the same.
"If this republic is going to remain free, we all have to get involved in solving this," Rokita said.
Representatives for Rokita may be contacted at 718-0404 or online at rokita.house.gov.
wade.coggeshall@flyergroup.com
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