FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
The U.S. is headed for fiscal disaster... and Washington may just watch while the ship goes down.
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As President Obama gets ready to present his budget next week, it's unclear if he'll propose the tough cuts necessary to start turning things around.
We are in big trouble.
The national debt now tops $14 trillion dollars, and there's another $1.5 trillion deficit projected for this year.
And while everybody in Washington talks about cutting the deficits, no one really seems to mean it. Plus the public is partly to blame, as well. Polls show nearly 80 percent of Americans say it's more important to prevent cuts in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid than to reduce the deficit.
So where are our leaders on this critical issue? President Obama all but ignored his own deficit commission. And the midterms caused everybody to look the other way.
Now A bipartisan group of senators is pushing to revive key elements of the commission's plan to cut deficits by $4 trillion in the next 10 years. But with a presidential election looming on the horizon - it will be a tough sell.
Experts suggest if the president wants to get serious, he needs to be specific in his upcoming budget... like setting targets for how much the government will cut. If Congress doesn't meet these targets, then across-the-board spending cuts should kick in.
Meanwhile, as Congress and the president sit on their hands when it comes to government spending, governors are setting a good example. They're slashing budgets, firing people, cutting programs - you know, "REAL" cost cutting.
But when it comes to the federal government, all we get is talk.
Here’s my question to you: Will President Obama get serious about the deficit when he presents his budget?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
A Vanishing American writes:
It doesn't matter whether he gets serious or not. Massive cuts in all government agencies are necessary and Congress will never do anything that will address the root of our financial problems. Thomas Jefferson thought there were too many parasites riding on the backs of the productive in his time. Wonder what he would have to say if he were around today?
John in Alabama writes:
Jack, I believe President Obama wants to get serious about the deficit, but it is hard when the Republicans want to give tax cuts to billionaires, like Gates and Buffet. If everyone were serious about the deficit, there would be no tax cuts for anyone.
Craig writes:
Most people would think that getting serious about deficit reduction means that the president would act quickly and decisively to reduce it. Not this president. He just keeps piling on more debt and blaming everyone else for it! Wake up, taxpayers. You are being scammed.
Bruce in Philadelphia writes:
The indicator will be whether he cuts funding dramatically for our military expansion and imperialism. Cutting foreign aid, particularly for Israel, is also an indicator.
Lorne in California writes:
No doubt President Obama will act with all the serious certitude of the farmer whose horse has escaped. He'll focus on shutting the barn door. A prudent decision to be sure; deficits, like horses, tend to run away and barns don't.
Ron writes:
He's not serious; he is trying to buy a re-election in 2012. I don't think it will work.
Mark writes:
President Obama has never met a dollar that he doesn't want to spend.