Letters to the Editor: The U.S.'s ‘persistent lack of fiscal discipline' has led to our current bond market

To the editor: The alarms sounding from the bond market are warranted given the U.S. government's persistent lack of fiscal discipline ('Why bond yields are rising and why everyone should care,' Sept. 2). Our leaders could make needed change by replicating the approach of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, which put caps on the growth of federal spending and also had limited tax increases. The law was bipartisan and set the stage for further fiscal reforms that decade, including 'pay-as-you-go' spending rules that further limited the growth of the budget deficit. Unless a major first step in deficit reduction, like the 1990 act, is taken by our leaders, the U.S. will continue to see record borrowing and higher interest rates as far as the eye can see. This will result in slower growth, crowding out of private investment and a continued erosion of confidence in U.S. economic leadership around the world. Christian B. Teeter, Los AngelesThis writer is a professor of business administration at Mount Saint Mary's University in Los Angeles.