Americans are crippled by debt every day.
We tend to not have any options other than to take out loans to pay for our lives, whether it’s for paying new homes or for continuing our educations.
Most of us are indebted in some shape or form, and the ones who aren’t are rare and lucky.
If we have to pay back the money we borrowed in a timely manner, what makes the U.S. government different?
Recently, the national debt surged to a historic record of $20 trillion. But the U.S. Constitution doesn’t have any limits on how much and what the government spends money on.
Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen said, “The most significant threat to our national security is our debt.”
This record high of $20 trillion in debt needs to be a wake-up call for Americans and for our government. It’s time to take control of reducing our debt and to be more responsible about spending.
But the sad truth is that most Americans don’t realize our country’s national debt just reached an all-time high. “Out of sight, out of mind” could be the mindset that infects most Americans.
However, it’s time to realize that we can’t afford to dig a deeper hole for ourselves and our future generations.
America’s national debt growth is affecting the economy’s growth, increasing interest rates, and hindering infrastructure growth — all while putting the nation into an even bigger predicament.
We don’t know what lies ahead for the nation’s economy or what unforeseen events could happen, like recessions and natural disasters.
So, how will we address these problems in the future if we don’t have the money to support relief?
Trump’s Big Plans
We’ve seen it time and time again — a new president and new promises.
One of the common promises from a newly elected president is to turn around the nation’s economy. And one of the first steps is working to reduce the nation’s debt to a more manageable amount.
In May 2017, the Trump administration issued its first full budget proposal. Just like every other president that came before him, President Donald Trump has been promising to significantly reduce the national debt in the coming years of his presidency:
Before becoming the 45th president of the U.S., he declared that if he were elected, he would get rid of the national debt “over a period of eight years.”
Well, he was elected. And it’s almost nine months into his presidency, and our national debt has continued increasing.
And the Trump administration’s budget could actually increase the national debt even further…
The president wants to build a wall bordering Mexico, rebuild the nation’s infrastructure, increase defense spending, and protect Social Security and Medicare from cuts.
But the cuts that he’s decided to make won’t make a difference in the long run — especially if he follows through with rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure and with increasing defense spending. The amount of spending that the administration wants to make will cancel out the cuts he plans to make. Trump has said that a 3% economic growth per year will be the administration’s goal. But to most analysts, this seems like a very ambitious goal.
The Congressional Budget Office is projecting a potential economic growth of 1.8% a year from 2017 through 2027.
William Gale, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said, “Historically, when one party controls both houses of Congress and the White House, the deficit goes up.”
The U.S. hasn’t been debt-free since 1835. And it will take a little more than eight years to get the country on the path to recovery…
Until next time,
Jennifer Clark
Pro Trader Today