Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
- Sen. Mitt Romney expressed concerns about America's future during speeches in Utah, emphasizing significant issues like the national debt.
- He highlighted the $36 trillion debt and its $1 trillion annual interest, warning of potential economic collapse unless addressed through tax hikes and spending cuts.
- Romney also criticized the performative nature of politicians, likening them to pro wrestlers, and urged a focus on legislation rather than theatrics.
SALT LAKE CITY — Sen. Mitt Romney says he is optimistic about America's future, but he sure doesn't sound like it.
In two speeches in Utah Tuesday, Romney laid out his biggest concerns for the future, while insisting he is still optimistic. But his list of what could lie ahead is the stuff of horror movies — if an economic collapse brought on by the nation's debt doesn't bring America to its knees, it might be our artificial intelligence overlords who teach our adversaries how to make bigger bombs or a killer virus.
Still, as Romney winds down his political career, he says he's still optimistic about America's future for one reason: "freedom." He insisted free societies will be more successful in the long run.
Romney described his list of worries first to a group of entrepreneurs at Kiln in Lehi Tuesday morning, then to a group of University of Utah students at a Sutherland Institute event held at the school's Hinckley Institute of Politics.
Romney's biggest concern: Debt — and economic collapse
Not once, but twice Tuesday, Romney told a rather colorful — and slightly gross — story about a 600 lb pro wrestler named Haystack Calhoun, and another wrestler Killer Kowalski, who Romney said he watched as a child in Michigan.
The story involves the two men, copious amounts of fruit juice consumed in Hawaii and an airplane ride.
The point of the story, Romney said, is that overconsumption is not good.
"Excessive eating has consequences, and what we've been doing as a country over the last 25 years has been gorging on fruit juice," he said. "We're spending massive amounts of money, more than we're taking in, and we do that year after year after year, and we pay for it by borrowing money."
The United States is now $36 trillion in debt, Romney pointed out, almost the same size as the entire U.S. economy.
The interest on the debt is $1 trillion a year, four times the amount the U.S. government spends on military hardware, he said.
Eventually, if investors stop wanting to buy debt at the interest rate the U.S. is offering it at, interest rates will climb, as will inflation, Romney said.
"And then that starts to spiral. And now you're in real trouble," he said, warning this could lead to an economic collapse.
But fixing the debt could be easy, Romney said, with political will. It would take a mixture of tax hikes and spending cuts, including on entitlements like Social Security.
Tax hikes should be focused on taxes that don't affect economic growth, like the inheritance tax, he said.
Romney: Politicians are pro wrestlers in disguise
Romney returned to his childhood heroes Calhoun and Kowalski to explain another of his concerns — how many lawmakers in Washington D.C. have become performers — like pro wrestlers — instead of policymakers.
"People that are getting elected perform for the wing of their party, and they have no intention of actually doing anything," he said. "They go to Washington to make noise and get money as a result of that, fundraising money, but not to make law."
He challenged both audiences on Tuesday to look for lawmakers who are doers instead of performers, praising Utah Rep. John Curtis, the Republican nominee for the Senate seat Romney is vacating.
Lawmakers who were in the private sector are more likely to want to legislate, Romney said, asking his audience to avoid "career politicians."
Romney: Lawmakers need to regulate artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence could turn out to be more "impactful" than the atom bomb, Romney said, "and yet, we don't have any regulations on it, no guardrails."
Romney said he thinks it will be the next generation who figures out how to put "guardrails" around AI technology, given the age of his fellow senators and the complexity of the emerging technology.
"Look, I can barely operate my phone, so how am I going to set the regulations for AI? And the same thing with the other senators who had Sam Altman and Elon Musk and all those who we had to come in and testify. We have no idea what they're talking about. Let me be honest," he said.
But Romney seemed to understand well the possible threats AI could pose to the U.S. and other people around the world. If rogue actors get control of technology, they could use it to build weapons, to shut down infrastructure like water or electricity, or to develop a superbug, he said.
They could also use it to access people's bank accounts and credit cards in a way that would make them even more vulnerable than they are now, he said, pointing out he had to get four new credit cards just in the last few months.
There are things lawmakers in Washington, D.C., can do now to make AI technology safer, he said, including insisting that companies creating the technology make sure it is secure.
Challenges to US dominance in the world
Countries like Russia and China pose a challenge to U.S. global leadership, Romney said, warning the U.S. is falling behind.
With China's fast-growing military might in the Pacific, and its monopoly control of some industries, Romney said the U.S. risks falling farther behind if it doesn't take steps to challenge its rising dominance.
Countries like Iran, Russia and China are also interfering in U.S. elections, he said, with Iran backing Vice President Kamala Harris, Russia backing former President Donald Trump, and China trying to encourage discord.
While countries like China and Russia have some advantages, Romney said, "freedom is better."
"Freedom is an extraordinary elixir," he said.
