The Opinion Blog

Buy-now-pay-later fever sickens America

From the afternoon e-mail ... Economist Mark Hendrickson bemoans the values shift that has plunged America into a deep sea of indebtedness:

By Dr. Mark W. Hendrickson

Thrift used to be a virtue in America. In Asia, thrift remains a way of life. For example, it is estimated that the average Chinese family's thrift rate is 30 to 40 percent, which helps explain the rapid growth rates there.

A century ago, the sociologist Max Weber credited the so-called Protestant work ethic, combining thrift with hard work, as the engine of America's economic preeminence. How times have changed!

While many Americans are thrifty, many are not. The political divide of blue-state and red-state Americans is replicated in an economic division between red-ink and black-ink personal finances.

Where are you, Ross, when we really need you?

Ripped from the wires ... Bill Clinton's former budget director and her colleague explain that what the nation really needs is a third-party presidential candidate focused on the deficit.

By Alice M. Rivlin and Michael O'Hanlon

We hear that Ralph Nader is running again, but the third-party candidate we need is Ross Perot. In 1992, with his squeaky voice and endless charts, Perot focused attention on the rising federal deficit. His warnings helped keep the major-party candidates from talking budgetary nonsense.

For all of their impressive qualities, this year's presidential candidates are woefully short on fiscal prudence. And the next president will face two daunting budget problems. The winner will inherit a large deficit resulting from a weak economy, an expensive war and the persistent political inclination to spend more and tax less. The bigger challenge? Promises made to the growing population of retirees as health-care spending continues to soar.

Mid-May national debt check-up

Friends: We last checked in on our national debt April 23, when the total stood at $9,341,483,600,140.48. As of today, it stands at $9,352,287,132,675.25. In a little over three weeks, in short, the debt has risen about $10.8 billion. That this increase doesn't seem so bad is a powerful indicator of how jaded I, at least, have become about unsecured federal spending.

You can find more information about the federal debt at http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

Cheers (if that's the word), dc