The article argues that recent executive overreach and politicization have severely undermined established norms of U.S. civil-military relations. To restore professional standards, the incoming Congress must actively exercise its oversight powers, moving beyond mere criticism to demanding transparency in defense policy and personnel decisions. Key reforms include enforcing meritocratic promotion processes, requiring documented justification for senior officer removals, and preventing the partisan use of the military. These actions are crucial for bolstering public trust and ensuring the military remains a nonpartisan instrument of civilian control.
Can We “Grow Our Way” Out of Debt?
English Summary
The article challenges the notion that the U.S. national debt can be solved merely by achieving high economic growth, arguing that such reliance is dangerous and unsupported by current projections. Key evidence suggests that sustained 3% growth is historically difficult, and even if achieved, rising interest payments—which already exceed defense spending by 16%—will consume funds allocated for essential government services. Consequently, the policy implication is that structural reforms are necessary, requiring both spending cuts (e.g., reforming Social Security and Medicare) and new revenue streams (e.g., implementing a broad federal value-added tax) to stabilize the debt-to-GDP ratio.
中文摘要
本文挑戰了「美國國債僅透過實現高經濟增長即可解決」的觀點，認為過度依賴此方式是危險且缺乏現行預測支持的。關鍵證據顯示，維持持續的3%增長在歷史上極為困難；即使實現，不斷上升的利息支出——目前已超過國防開支的16%——也會消耗原本分配給必要政府服務的資金。因此，政策上的啟示是，必須進行結構性改革，這需要同時實施開支削減（例如改革社會安全和醫療保險）和開拓新的收入來源（例如實施廣泛的聯邦增值稅），才能穩定債務佔國內生產總值比率。
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