Happy 248th Birthday America! We are the “land of the free,” the “land of opportunity,” and a nation that is guided by the “rule of law.” We are so blessed. I frequently thank God for the privilege of being an American.
It is our duty to defend this great nation and leave it stronger for future generations. We must protect our freedoms, our precious democracy, and the rights we have secured.
Like every generation before us, we are facing our own unique set of challenges that we must confront. Our foreign adversaries disdain both us and the values that we hold dear. Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea want to replace the rules the world has largely embraced since World War II with their policy of “might makes right.” Their alliance is becoming increasingly more apparent. They want to dominate the future global environment, and they reject our values of individual liberties, inalienable rights, and free markets.
Some want America to turn inward and adopt isolationism like we did prior to World War II. It didn’t work then, and it won’t work now. America is the indispensable nation for freedom. Without our voice, there will be a giant void that our adversaries will fill. Without our leadership, the world will become more dangerous, and America and our allies will live under constant threat.
We also cannot do this on our own. We have neither the treasury nor the manpower to unilaterally confront all four adversaries. Thus, we must grow our alliances with NATO, Japan, Australia, Israel, and all nations who share our love for individual freedoms, rule of law, and the free markets. We need leadership that values our friendships and strives to grow our economic and strategic ties.
But, if we want to prevail against our global adversaries, we must tackle the growing debt crisis that is crippling our ability to defend our country. We have a $34 trillion debt and climbing. The challenge is that 72 percent of our federal budget is mandatory spending and that grows every year. In 1950, we had a 15:1 ratio of workers to retirees and now it is 3:1. Soon it will be 2:1, and this is driving up our mandatory spending. Our shrinking discretionary spending sits at 28 percent of the budget and this is where we fund our defense. Our interest payment this coming year is over $1 trillion, which is significantly more than we spend on our military. Our ability to respond to our international threats is hamstrung by this growing debt crisis. The president and Congress must come to grips with this now. I support debt commission legislation that will force us to responsibly govern.
As a share of our gross domestic product, our military funding is nearing an all-time low since the Korean War. Our military spending is 3.1 percent of our GDP and declining. With this budget, we are not able to build the military we need to counter China. Arming our military and taking care of the all-volunteer force requires more. But the growing debt and interest payments stand in the way.
The debt crisis is the most challenging threat for our generation. Continuing to ignore our debt is only enabling our foreign adversaries. The next president will have no choice but to confront our debt head-on.
In the words of former President Ronald Reagan, “freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. It must be fought for, protected and handed on for them to do the same.” Our generation is not exempt. Like the generations before us, we need to make the tough decisions now that will preserve the greatest country in the history of mankind and that will allow us to prevail over the enemies of freedom. Only 5 percent of people in the history of mankind have lived in freedom; freedom is rare, precious, and fragile. We cannot take it for granted.
Don Bacon represents Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District. Prior to his time in elected office, he served for nearly 30 years in the U.S. Air Force, ultimately retiring as a Brigadier General.
During his career in the Air Force, Bacon specialized in electronic warfare, intelligence, and reconnaissance. His career highlights include two tours as a Wing Commander, one each at Ramstein Air Base in Germany and Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue, Nebraska; group command at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona; squadron command in Arizona; and expeditionary squadron command in Iraq. In total, Congressman Bacon served 16 assignments including four deployments across the globe, three of which were in the Middle East, and one assignment to Iraq in 2007 to 2008 during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.
Congressman Bacon’s military decorations include the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, two Bronze Stars, two Legion of Merits, five Meritorious Service Medals, and the Aerial Achievement Medal. Additionally, he was selected as Europe’s top Air Force Wing Commander for his time at Ramstein Air Base, as well as recognized as a distinguished graduate of the Air Command and Staff College, Navigator-Electronic Warfare School, and Officer Intelligence School.