This column is designed to do one thing- make the reader think about the financial mess that we are leaving our children and grandchildren. The column is nonpartisan… because both parties are responsible for the creation of this impending catastrophe. My firm opinion is that, purposefully, neither party has boiled down the data in an understandable form. Because they both do not want to admit the worsening mess that we are in.

The theoretical construct is simple. To have a balanced budget, you must raise enough revenue to off-set your expenses. Every taxpayer is faced with this issue in their personal finances. Your family can make more money…or spend less. But our national politicians, red and blue, completely ignore this basic financial tenant.

The facts speak for themselves. The last administration to have a budget surplus was Bill Clinton. 

Since then, things have gotten worse and worse, no matter which party is in office. As of May 2025, the national debt was $36.2 trillion- or $106,000 per US resident (https://usafacts.org/answers/how-much-debt-does-the-us-have/country/united-states/ ). Here is how that happened (for simplicity, we will skip W)-

The annual deficits (in billions) under Obama were as follows:

            *First term: 2009 – $1,413; 2010 – $1,294; 2011 – $1,300; 2012 – $1,077

            *Second term: 2013 – $680; 2014 – $485; 2015 – $442; 2016 – $585.

Under Trump’s first term, the annual deficit went up significantly versus Obama’s second (in billions):

    *2017- $665; 2018- $779; 2019- $984 and 2020- $3,132. It reached the highest annual amount in history, by far, in 2020...partly fueled by mismanagement of the Covid-19 epidemic. 

Biden was also problematic, with even larger deficit increases versus the first three years of Trump’s term:

*2021-$1,484; 2022- $1,402; 2023- $2,238 and 2024- $1,833.

We as a nation have overspent. There is an understandable breakdown of expenditures, dividing them into three major categories: a. mandatory; b. discretionary and c. interest (https://www.pgpf.org/federal-budget-guide/ ). To sum it up- a. 3 very popular programs make up three fourths of mandatory spending (Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid); b. our military is about half of discretionary; and c. the US national debt is constantly growing larger- interest payments are more than $2.6 billion every day. To reduce expenditures, the USA would have to make some very hard choices which would have major economic  and social consequences.

But it isn’t just spending causing the debt increase. Our government decreased federal revenues dramatically via the 2017 “temporary” tax cut. That tax cut is now permanent via the recently passed “Big Beautiful Bill”. According to projections, the deficit (in billions) will be $1,865 in 2025 and $1,713 in 2026 (https://www.cbo.gov/publication/61172 ). 

Our national debt is currently equally to 100% of our gross product. Unless there are policy changes, the deficit will continue to grow. By 2035, it will be 118% (https://www.cbo.gov/publication/60870).

If we truly care about our children and grandchildren, America’s voters will demand that politicians of both parties construct a budget which will create an annual surplus to pay off our national debt. Increasing our national debt under both red and blue administrations is just not a viable long-term option.