Last week, the national debt surpassed $37 trillion, twice what it was just a decade ago.
Once upon a time, the national debt was the subject of intense national debate.
Democrats and Republicans once recognized the perils of a growing national debt and understood the value of approaching matters of taxing-and-spending with a sense of responsibility. No more.
Sure, there are some exceptions, including Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who said on X, “Our national debt continues to rise, and there’s no end in sight. Washington needs to get serious about cutting wasteful spending. Our children and grandchildren’s future depends on it.”
Sen. Paul’s voting record at least reflects his rhetoric. He voted against the recent “One Big Beautiful Bill” that is projected to add trillions more to the national debt over the next decade.
Ahead of the last elections, Rep. Young Kim told this editorial board, “This is unsustainable – we cannot afford to continue down this fiscally reckless path and saddle our grandkids with the bill. This is both parties’ fault and requires both parties to come together to solve it.”
Rep. Jay Obernolte told us, “We must reduce federal spending consistently over several years to achieve a balanced budget without a shock to our economy. Once we balance the budget, ongoing growth in our economy catalyzed by lower taxes will proportionately reduce our national debt.”
And Rep. Ken Calvert told us, “The country is $35 trillion in debt which amounts to $100,000 for every man, woman and child in this country. That’s an immoral burden to pass on to our children and grandchildren.”
Yet all three voted to blow up the national debt even further. It’s easy to talk like a fiscal conservative, but talk is cheap.
A recent brief from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University surveyed the academic literature on the relationship between debt and economic growth.
The finding: “Higher public debt levels are associated with slower economic growth, particularly when debt ratios exceed a critical range.”
As research fellow Jack Salmon noted, “While the precise threshold varies across studies and contexts, the bulk of the evidence places it between 75 and 80% of GDP for advanced economies — a level that the United States has materially exceeded since 2020.”
When will our supposed representatives confront this problem with the seriousness it demands?