Katie Couric's Notebook: Unbalanced

By: Katie Couric
Topics: Katie's Notebook

Video:
Notebook: Unbalanced Budget

Hi, everyone.

Yesterday, President Bush unveiled next year's budget. While it's more a wish list than a plan—because Congress still has to approve every penny--something was missing from the Administration's press conferences.

Despite the promise that we're just five years from a balanced budget, the truth is--when the real costs of Iraq and entitlements and tax cuts are taken into account--we're about as far from that goal as ever.

Why does the government's debt matter to your family? Two reasons.

First, for your security. Big deficits mean we depend on loans from countries like China...so how can we get tough on our banker for supporting North Korea and Sudan?

Second, for your legacy. Do we, the baby boomers, really want to be the first generation to leave more debt, rather than more opportunity, for the next? That debt--unless we do something about it--will cost our children about $30,000 each.

That's a page from my notebook.

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by ericmichael1 February 8, 2007 8:26 PM EST: Katie,

I think that you are right about the budget. It matters to our children and to our nation. Unfortunately, we have become a nation of borderline-bankrupt families. We do not save, we are deeply in debt, and we are ging more into debt each year. We have become a nation of families that do not know the difference between desires and true needs. And we are teaching our children how to get material things quickly today, because the payoff can wait.

If we are not financially savy as families, and we are not good examples to our own children, then why would we expect the government to be any different?

Eric; Reply to this comment


by tcoleman12 February 7, 2007 9:17 PM EST: Katie, you know better than that...You act like the President is the only person that put any money in this budget while every single congressman and senator in Washington has money pouring out of this package. However, the President is the only one with his name on it. The worst thing the baby-boomers are leaving my generation with is a broken Social Security program that they are not willing to allow us to fix.; Reply to this comment


by blainem3 February 7, 2007 12:49 AM EST: Katie,I wonder if the American people realize that the Democrats are doing the same thing today as the American people did to us in VeitNam. I received this on our Marine Corps web from a retired Lt.Col
Blaine Marshall
General Giap conceded in his memoirs that the North Vietnamese had for all
intents and purposes been defeated after the 1968 Tet Offensive. The only
reason that he persevered was his belief that the peace movement in the
United States and its support in the American media would help him snatch
victory from defeat; Reply to this comment


by cbelster February 6, 2007 9:31 PM EST: My glass is half full. I think that though we at times compromise our ability to steer Chinese policy, it may be that banking and trade relationship that acts as a safety valve to military tensions that may arise. Summarizing, a debtor relationship is better than no relationship at all.

I do however agree that spending trends need to be addressed by both Congress and the President in a timely and meaningful way.; Reply to this comment