We owe $40 trillion
News that the national debt has risen above $40 trillion resonated like a ringing bell in my mind. It registered that America is 16 times deeper in its fiscal hole than it was when I first reported on this chronic ailment back in the late 1980s.
TL;DR
- The U.S. national debt has exceeded $40 trillion, 16 times larger than the $2.6 trillion debt from the late 1980s.
- In the late 1980s, a $155 billion annual deficit was considered a fiscal emergency, leading to discussions about debt summits.
- Current annual deficit spending is approximately $1.9 trillion, with little public or political concern evident.
- Socialist ideas are gaining traction, especially among young voters who expect government to provide services funded by taxpayers.
- The article argues that government cannot give anything of net value, only redistribute money among citizens.
- Current overspending in peacetime is compared to the deficit spending during World War II.