Generally speaking, conservatives believe that we should avoid a debt -- that we should be conservative with our spending. Just like it’s dangerous for you to be living with lots of credit card debt and student loans for a long time is a bad idea, it’s bad for the country to be in so much debt for such a long period of time.
They feel strongly that our debt is out of control, and there is evidence to suggest they are right. Our debt is approaching levels we haven’t seen since WWII and we are on a path to skyrocket beyond that level. It’s unclear exactly what the direct consequences would be of such outstanding debts, but there are many potential concerns.
Generally speaking, the first thing conservatives want to talk about to do is cut back on our largest government expenditures -- commonly referred to as Entitlement Reform. For the most part that means making budget cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.
The main thing that gets lost is an actual discussion of why the debt is so large and how it compares to the past. Often liberals get frustrated that conservatives are ignoring basic facts when it comes to Global Warming. The same can be said of liberals when it comes to our debt. Until you look at things on a relative scale, it can be hard to qualify why our debt is so concerning. Take a look at our debt as a percentage of GDP growth. The only time we’ve reached these levels is WWII.
We tend not to discuss the direct consequences of such a large debt. This is how it will affect you personally. As discussed above, this might mean higher taxes for you because you are in part responsible for paying the US debt.
This leads to the second thing that gets lost, which is a healthy discussion of the way we might be able to cut back on spending. Let’s say you are $100,000 in debt. There are lots of options for how you might reduce that debt -- you could get a smaller apartment, cook at home more often, or start using public transportation and get rid of your car. It may not be easy to decide what to cut back on, but it’s safe to say you MUST pick something, right? Liberals tend not to want to have that discussion. This can sometimes be what frustrates conservatives so much.
This might be a good time to have a conversation about our health care system as a whole. There’s lots of evidence to suggest that if we allowed more people to buy into the medicare program, overall healthcare costs would be reduced. You don’t need to frame this as universal health care, but rather an additional option besides private insurance.
Although it’s not nearly as large of a percentage as our entitlements, we also spend a considerable amount on the military. Be very careful with this one, conservatives take great pride in our military might and for good reason — it’s one of the reasons we are the world’s superpower. That being said, there are likely areas where we can cut back in the military as well.