National Debt Surges Past $38 Trillion, Echoing a Crippling Hoarding Crisis
WASHINGTON – Teh United States national debt has exceeded $38 trillion, a figure that translates to over $110,000 owed per citizen and more than $328,000 per taxpayer, according to recent data. this escalating debt burden is drawing comparisons to a debilitating hoarding disorder, with perhaps severe consequences for the nation’s economic future.
the debt-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio has dramatically increased over the past four decades. In 1980, it stood at under 35 percent. By 2000, it had risen to 55.5 percent. Today, it surpasses 120 percent. A concerning progress is that the U.S.government now allocates more funds to interest payments on the debt than to national defense.
Experts suggest public apathy has enabled the continued growth of the debt. “the national debt feels like having a hoarder live in one of your bedrooms. Sure, that room is unpleasant to look at, but you can just close the door and ignore it.Eventually,though,their stuff spreads down the hall and into another bedroom. Then, it’s in the living room, bathroom and kitchen,” observes an analysis by the Las vegas Review-Journal.
Veronique de Rugy, a contributing editor at Reason magazine, explains that the Federal Reserve, beginning under Chairman Alan Greenspan in 1987, contributed to the problem by maintaining artificially low interest rates and “monetizing debt,” effectively shielding politicians from the immediate political repercussions of deficit spending.This approach aligns with the tenets of modern monetary theory, which has historically downplayed the risks of inflation.
“The problem is that this only works insofar as investors don’t worry that they will be paid back with inflated dollars,” de Rugy writes. “That illusion has vanished. Interest costs have surged from $372 billion annually just a few years ago to nearly $1 trillion today.”
The consequences are now being felt by the public in the form of persistent, elevated prices. While President Donald Trump has contributed to a slowing of inflation, most prices remain higher than they were in 2019.
Crucially, the primary driver of the deficit is government spending, not a lack of tax revenue. Federal tax revenues have increased significantly, rising from over $2.4 trillion in early November 2012 to more than $5.2 trillion so far this year.
Analysts agree that addressing the debt requires a basic shift in fiscal policy. Simply increasing revenue, akin to “buying a bigger house” for a hoarder, will not solve the problem. A sustainable solution demands a reduction in government spending and a deliberate effort to curb the accumulation of further debt.
