Presidential candidates ignore the state of the U.S. economy

To the editor:There is a dirty little secret that none of the presidential front-runners mention. Not Republicans. Not Democrats. What is this unmentionable topic? It's the state of the U.S. economy.

According to the Government Accounting Office, the current fiscal exposure of the U.S. is now $50.5 trillion. That means the share of debt of every US household is $440,000. This by far exceeds the indebtedness of any other nation, either total or per person.

Yet no candidate, with the exception of long-shot Republican Ron Paul, has even mentioned the fiscal steps that must be taken to avoid imminent bankruptcy.

Any candidate who advocates tax cuts or increased government programs is trying to buy your vote at the expense of your children and grandchildren. Unless there are massive changes, the GAO estimates that by 2040 government spending will need to be cut 60 percent and taxes raised by 200 percent.

Some say we can simply grow the economy and that would take care of the economy. If we look at the past decade, the U.S. has had an annual growth rate of about 3 percent. To grow our way out of the current mess, we would need an annual growth rate in excess of 10 percent per year for 75 years.

Is this the legacy we want to leave our children?

Voters should demand that all candidates put forward a plan to restore fiscal responsibility to government and not fall for the false promises of tax cuts or new government programs.

PETER GORDON, Cape Girardeau