Who remembers the Cold War? American values won. Democracy and capitalism won.

The fall of the U.S.S.R occurred without a single shot being fired or any troops being deployed. The Soviet Union had severe economic problems and its system of government – communism – failed. Our enemies would love to see our system of government and capitalism, as we know it, fail as well.

We must recognize this fact and understand that the border crisis is the “weapon” of choice of our enemies. The President of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega is among those leading the charge against the U.S.

We are living in perilous times and are vulnerable.

With the high cost of all our entitlement programs, interest payments on our $34 trillion national debt, and national security spending, we are down to having only $0.17 on the dollar for discretionary spending.

In 2015 the net interest payments on our debt represented 6% of the U.S. budget. Today, interest payments make up 14% – and it is growing fast. Just the interest payments on our national debt is rapidly approaching our defense budget and would almost be equal to all non-defense discretionary spending.

That is simply unsustainable.

Cutting government non-defense discretionary spending does not result in huge gains. It does help us not to add to the national debt, however. The other option is to raise taxes.

What would have a dramatic positive impact on our economy is to increase the labor force participation rate of Americans (currently at 62%). This stat means that a whopping 38% of Americans are not seeking work for one reason or another.

We need to get at least a portion of the 38% back into being productive citizens or it could be detrimental to all of the 62% who are working.

This would have multiple benefits! We would redirect those who are takers of government funds to being contributors to our tax base. Win-win. In addition, it would also improve their quality of life, making them more productive.

The 38% today rely on the federal government in part or in whole for their survival. The majority of these folks are white, but a disproportionate number are Black people and Hispanics.

Today our enemies are using a “Trojan Horse” border crisis to wage an “economic war” against the U.S. And once again, like the Cold War, no shots are being fired.

For starters, we must engage! We must secure our borders and severely penalize employers who hire illegal immigrants.

Have you wondered how people from all over the globe have recently been showing up at our southern border?

As we list Nicaragua as a sanctioned nation, Ortega has retaliated by weaponizing migration to America as reported on National Public Radio earlier this month.

It was reported that Ortega advertises and organizes flights from around the world to his country for a clear path to reaching and entering America illegally.

Unfortunately for America, it is a booming business.

Our enemies seem to believe that American employers are greedy. They believe American employers would take cheap labor over more costly labor regardless of whether it would hurt Americans.

We must prove them wrong.

Our government and employers should work to strengthen and prepare potential American workers (especially those not counted in the official unemployment numbers, those part of the 38%) instead of allowing illegal immigrants – who are willing to work for “crumbs” – to take American jobs.

Then you have employers crying about a need for workers. This does not seem complicated. Those seeking workers should reach out to those who do not have work.

Coupled with training, if open positions pay well, more businesses would not have open positions for long. People are not going to take jobs that would cause them to lose money after paying expenses like childcare. Nor would you.

The claim that such a move would raise the cost of goods and services would warrant review. Let’s start with reviewing executive compensation, which dwarfs the salaries of a company’s average worker. Americans have proven their ability to absorb higher prices when it is justified.

Just imagine if our national debt continues to grow, if we have fewer workers contributing to Social Security, if we have more people receiving Medicaid, if we have more people receiving welfare benefits, food stamps and government subsidized housing. Taken together these socialist-like policies could eclipse or seriously impair our capitalistic system.

As of today, Ortega and others like him must be enjoying what they see. It would appear to the world that either we can’t, or we won’t secure our borders. This would make us either weak or not too smart.

President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress, an economic war caused largely by the border crisis could be much like the Cold War. And that would truly be a threat to our democracy.

Gary Franks served three terms as U.S. representative for Connecticut’s 5th District. He was the first Black Republican elected to the House in nearly 60 years and New England’s first Black member of the House. Host: podcast “We Speak Frankly.” @GaryFranks/Tribune News Service