Painful cuts

Don't even think of lining up 13.9 trillion dollar bills end-on-end in order to create some kind of visual metaphor for our national debt. The human brain is incapable of comprehending a number this big, but one thing we all know: The debt is unacceptably gigantic. It also threatens our national security.

The U.S. debt is growing so fast, it will equal the nation's gross domestic product sometime in the next five to 10 years unless drastic changes occur. That puts us in league with Greece and Italy in terms of looming insolvency. Foreign loans, particularly from China, are what keep us afloat, and America's influence over global affairs diminishes each time it meekly approaches foreign governments with hat in hand.

Conservatives want to flex their new muscle in Congress by blocking efforts to raise the federal debt ceiling before it reaches a $14.3 trillion limit in coming months. Without the increase, America would risk default and the calamitous prospect of a global financial meltdown.

A last-minute, compromise solution will avert disaster, but the debt-ceiling vote must not occur without serious soul searching by Congress and President Barack Obama about our spending habits. The kinds of cuts necessary will be painfully deep, and no matter how hard either party tries to sway this debate, meaningful action cannot occur without bipartisan agreement to deal with "untouchable" items like Social Security, Medicare, military spending, domestic security and taxes.

Everything - everything - must be put on the table to see where maximum efficiencies can be found.

- The Dallas Morning News