National Debt News

Some House Republicans say they would rather use Department of Government Efficiency savings to pay off the national debt than to hand out the funds to taxpayers. President Donald Trump floated giving $5,000 stimulus checks to taxpaying households in February, saying: “We’re thinking about giving 20% back to the American citizens, and 20% down to…

“Let’s talk about the deficit.” That is what Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor on Monday, June 2. “For years, Republicans screamed about fiscal responsibility. But now Republicans are backing a bill that could add over $50 trillion to the national debt over 30 years,” Schumer claimed—without citing a source—in…

The Congressional Budget Office, Congress’ scorekeeper on the fiscal impact of legislation, released a report Wednesday predicting a deficit increase if Republicans’ “big, beautiful” budget reconciliation bill is enacted. Republicans dispute that claim, contending that those predictions come from a misguided view of the economy. The report projects that the House bill would heap an…

With June’s NATO summit likely to call for substantial increases in member defense spending, increased scrutiny awaits those NATO members that still haven’t reached even the 2% spending minimum—a minimum that’s been required for well over a decade.  One of the more notorious NATO free riders is Belgium, which has skated by while spending only…

Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of the accompanying video from professor Peter St. Onge. The Biden administration is handing President-elect Donald Trump a lit fuse on a $37 trillion debt bomb. Because they’ve added $12 trillion in debt over the past four years—more than we added in the first 220 years of…

Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of the accompanying video from professor Peter St. Onge. Japan just fired its stunningly unpopular prime minister, Fumio Kishida, replacing him with a new guy who, in just a few short months, will be just as stunningly unpopular. Why? Because Japan has gone so far down the…

The median age in the United States in 2023 was 39.1 years, according to the Census Bureau. That means that approximately half the people in this country were born in 1984 or later. What was happening four decades ago when about half America’s current population started coming into the world? In 1984, then-President Ronald Reagan…

The United States’ federal debt has soared to $35.3 trillion. In less than a year, the federal government has increased that debt by $1.9 trillion. That occurred during years of record tax revenues and acceptable economic growth. If the current administration remains in power, the Treasury’s own estimates predict an additional $16 trillion increase in…

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., made a startling claim in his opening statement as the Senate Health Committee held a hearing on “the medical debt crisis in America.” Sanders said that “over 66% of all personal bankruptcies in this country, some 530,000 per year, are connected to unpaid medical bills.” That certainly sounds like a crisis,…

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. won applause at the Libertarian presidential convention in May by criticizing government lockdowns and deficit spending, and saying America shouldn’t police the world. It made me want to interview him. Earlier this month, I did. Kennedy, an independent candidate for president, says intelligent things about America’s growing debt. “President [Donald] Trump…

While America’s attention has been focused on the presidential election, one of the greatest challenges facing the nation has continued to worsen. On Friday, the gross federal debt hit $35 trillion. For perspective, that amounts to about $267,000 for every household in the country. Unfortunately, not only has the debt soared to such an incredibly large number,…

Obama-appointed federal judges blocked parts of the Biden administration’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan on Monday in response to Republican states’ lawsuits. Judge John A. Ross of Missouri and Judge Daniel Crabtree of Kansas blocked parts of the administration’s SAVE Plan, which was an income-driven repayment program intended to lower monthly costs for borrowers….

If you’re confused about President Joe Biden’s various student loan debt-cancellation schemes, who can blame you? And on Tuesday, the Biden administration unveiled its third attempt to make you pay for someone else’s life choices. First, some background. In August 2022, the Biden administration announced its initial plan for canceling student loan debt. Borrowers earning…

While the White House lectures on the strength of the economy, Americans are drowning in credit card debt, which hit a record-high $1.13 trillion by the end of last year. Of course, Americans are sour on the economy: They’re having to put necessities on credit cards that charge $240 billion in interest annually. How we got here…

The U.S. set a new record in January for the total number of Americans employed by the government, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The government added 36,000 new employees in January, with 11,000 in the federal government and 19,000 in local government (excluding education), and now totaling 23,091,000, according to the bureau. January’s…

In May 2023, when then-Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy negotiated a debt limit deal that included spending limits, the gross national debt stood at just under $31.5 trillion. Conservatives in the House were deeply upset about the debt deal, which contained fraudulent gimmicks to get around the announced spending limits. Less than eight months…

The federal government’s debt increased by $2,238,422,431,416.43 in fiscal year 2023, according to data published by the U.S. Treasury Department. On Sept. 30, 2022, the last day of fiscal year 2022, the federal debt was $30,928,911,613,306.73, according to Treasury Department data. By Sept. 29, 2023, the last business day of fiscal year 2023, it had climbed to…

Polls show that Americans are pessimistic about the economy, with inflation as the top concern. That’s understandable, but do they understand where this inflationary surge came from and why Washington’s addiction to government spending threatens the future prosperity of the country? That may sound hyperbolic, but consider the numbers. The sum of new spending authorizations…

The federal government reached an ominous milestone Sept. 15 as the gross national debt exceeded $33 trillion—or more than $57,000 per household. The debt increased by $1.5 trillion in just 15 weeks due to rising spending and declining revenue. That’s understandably concerning, especially at a time of rising interest rates and elevated inflation. Higher interest…