Debt

Even in the best of circumstances (and these are definitely not the best of circumstances), Donald Trump faces major domestic budgetary challenges. During the previous administration, the national debt doubled due to profligate spending by Democrats who now (in what can only be characterized as massive hypocrisy) tell us they're concerned about how Trump will pay for, say, an infrastructure stimulus.

In addition, a massive healthcare entitlement, Obamacare, is self-destructing and must be replaced. The problem is that any replacement will add to the debt (1) because the original entitlement was sold with lies and deception, and (2) once an entitlement is in place, it is politically difficult (or impossible) to discard it (once people get free stuff, they believe the giveaway morphs into an inalienable right, and they get very angry when you take it away). Political courage is not something that you find in Washington, DC.

The Wall Street Journal published this CBO budget projection using conservative economic growth data:



Debt service in 30 years will account for one federal dollar in five, over three times higher than it is today. What pro-spending big government types should pay attention to is the area in grey. Money for all other big government programs will decrease from 45% to 26% of the federal budget. Unless we default on our debt, there will be massive cuts to the programs that progressives cherish, and the people who suffer most will be the very people that Democrats purport to care so much about.

There is a tendency among many on the left to be innumerate—to dismiss numbers, charts and graphs and rely instead on belief and fantasy income distribution schemes. Millennials and their children should be concerned about the preceding graph, but it should come as no surprise. Those of us who have warned that debt is dangerous have been dismissed by politicians who would prefer to kick the can down the road and continue kicking until a crisis occurs. We're not there yet, but it is coming. It won't be pretty.