The national debt is spiraling out of control, poised to exceed $56 trillion by 2034, says the latest Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report. Currently, it hovers just below $35 trillion. The root of the issue? The U.S. persistently spends more than it earns in taxes.
“Continuing to spend massively more than we take in and adding every year massively to the national debt will not go on forever and unless we deal with it in a constructive way we will have a financial catastrophe at some point,” remarked Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, earlier this month.
For 2024, the CBO anticipates a $1.9 trillion deficit, up from this year’s projected $1.6 trillion.
This surge stems from President Biden’s cancellation of $100 billion in student loan debt, rising costs of aiding Ukraine and Israel, and increased Medicaid expenses.
“We have a political system where instead of doing any of the necessary things that hard budgets require, our politicians seem to bury their heads in the sand,” said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Budget, in a recent interview with The National Desk.
Extending Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, supported to varying extents by both Biden and Trump, would further inflate the deficit.
“It’s not just spending. It is both spending and taxing you have to do both in order to reach balance,” Romney emphasized.
This fall’s elected leaders will face critical decisions impacting the nation’s financial health, including setting the debt limit and deciding on healthcare subsidies.
How they handle these issues will shape the economy and business landscape for years to come.
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