Saturday, September 5th, 2020
Stephan: Even Trumpers should remember that Republicans used to bray on and on about the national debt, never seeming to remember that the national debt goes down when Democrats are in power, and up when Republicans are in power, largely because Republicans are always trying to rig the Tax structure to favor their rich patrons. The last time we didn't have national debt was under Bill Clinton's administration. Unfortunately, it went completely off the rails again under Bush but was brought under control during the Obama administration, only to go crazy again under Trump.
But I don't think most Americans realize how really bad the national debt issue has become; it is now the worse such World War II and, because of the Republicans' incompetence in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, it is projected to get even worse than that previous historic high in the coming months. Biden is going to have to spend much of his first term, assuming he wins and the Senate flips just sorting out the mess Trump and the Trumpers will leave.
So when they do polls showing that an overwhelming majority of Republicans think Trump is better at handling the economy than Biden would be, you know that what you are really seeing is not a poll on economics, but one on Trumper willful ignorance.
WASHINGTON—U.S. debt has reached its highest level compared to the size of the economy since World War II and is projected to exceed it next year, the result of a giant fiscal response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday that federal debt held by the public is projected to reach or exceed 100% of U.S. gross domestic product, the broadest measure of U.S. economic output, in the fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1. That would put the U.S. in the company of a handful of nations with debt loads that exceed their economies, including Japan, Italy and Greece.Borrowing BounceU.S. government debt is expected to exceedthe size of the economy for fiscal year 2021.U.S. federal debt as a share of GDPSources: Office of Management and Budget, WendyEdelbergNote: 2021 is an estimate%RECESSIONFY2021: 104.4%’70FY1941’50’60’80’902000’10’20020406080100120
This year the ratio is expected to be 98%, also the highest since World War II.
The surge in borrowing so far isn’t creating angst among investors or hampering the U.S.’s ability to borrow more. Investors have gobbled up U.S. Treasury assets, drawn to their relative safety. Moreover, […]
