A so-called unwritten rule in the world of editorial writing is to avoid discussing in any detail the financial state of the country as the reader’s eyes would invariably glaze over and their interest would wane within the first few paragraphs. This patronizing unwritten rule is currently being used as an excuse to avoid discussing these vital issues in a pivotal election cycle wherein the legacy media has succumbed to a new hybrid virus combining Trump Derangement Syndrome and Biden Sycophancy Affliction.
While illegal immigration and the current state of the economy are the top issues dominating the current political stage, the nation’s uncontrolled spending and runaway debt should also be at the top of the list as they are major contributors to the current state of the economy. History is replete with examples of excessive spending and attendant debt creation leading to unconstrained inflation and ultimately the collapse of empires.
The United States is facing a similar fate. This nation is well down the road to becoming the most spendthrift and indebted nation in the annals of mankind and an understanding of the nation’s financial health is vital if we are to elude a similar fate.
In order to avoid drowning in a sea of numbers, it is advantageous to use a base year for purposes of comparison. The median age of the U.S. population in 2023 was 39. Thus, half of the American people alive today were born before 1984 and half born after 1984, and virtually all have experienced to some degree the financial roller-coaster on which the nation has been.
Since 1984 inflation has gone up 202.3%. An item costing $100.00 in 1984 would cost $302.28 today. This massive decline in the value of the dollar was brought about by excessive government spending, debt, and the attendant de facto money printing by the Federal Reserve to essentially cover the annual deficits.
In 1984 the U.S. government spent $832 billion. Applying the aggregate inflation since then, the 1984 spending level is equivalent to $2.514 trillion today. How much will the federal government actually spend in 2024: $6.941 trillion, or nearly triple the adjusted 1984 spending levels. This trend, which began a dramatic acceleration in 2009, has been ongoing since 1990.
This accelerating level of spending has overwhelmingly impacted the national indebtedness. In 1984 the total national debt since the founding of the country was $1.572 trillion. Since 1984, $33.328 trillion has been added to the national debt for a total of $34.900 trillion, an increase of an unfathomable 2,120%.
In 1984 the annual interest payments on America’s outstanding indebtedness was $198.8 billion; the current annual interest payments have increased 435% and now exceed $1,059.2 trillion, or 45% of all income tax revenue collected by the federal government.
Annual federal government spending has increased 180% as compared to inflation-adjusted 1984. Annual interest expenditures have increased 435% and the national debt has increased 2,120% since 1984. This is an unsustainable path that will inevitably lead to insolvency and collapse.
This is exactly what Biden and the Democrats will bring about if they were to retain the White House and Congress in 2024. The Democrat Party’s only interest is permanent one-party rule and not the future of the American people as corroborated by the recent Biden budget proposal combined with their long-term policy goals (e.g. student loan forgiveness, massively expanded welfare and entitlement programs, and the “Green New Deal”).
If the Democrats continue in power, by 2034 annual federal expenditures will approach $12 trillion. Per the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) the national debt will increase to $56 trillion, and interest payments will approach $2.0 trillion, or 84% of current income tax receipts.
These same Democrats are also proposing massive tax hikes on wealth, wealth creation, investments, capital, and income. These tax increases, combined with out of control spending and borrowing, will result in the government exercising exponentially more control over the economy as it siphons out an ever-increasing percentage of the nation’s wealth. As a consequence, real annual economic growth will, in all likelihood, be 1.2% or less per year.
As compared to 2024, by 2034 government expenditures will have grown by 75%, the national debt will have surged another $21 trillion, and interest payments will have increased by 90%, while the economy will grow by just 12%.
With this overall scenario, America’s ability to sell its debt at any reasonable interest rate to international investors will be seriously curtailed as the United States will have become a grossly irresponsible debtor nation. Consequently, the Federal Reserve will have to continually buy the government’s debt thereby effectively printing money and fomenting unending inflation. Inflation will, thus, remain in the range of at least 5% a year for the next ten years. What cost $100 in 1984 and $302 in 2024 will cost $500 in 2034.
If there are no dramatic changes over the next ten years, by 2034 the United States will have descended into a potential never-ending downward spiral that can only end in insolvency, chaos, and collapse.
The only viable solution to this headlong rush into insolvency and chaos is to soundly defeat the Democrats in 2024 and follow the lead of Javier Milei of Argentina by severely curtailing government spending, reforming entitlement programs, and focusing on policies to dramatically accelerate economic growth.
While Donald Trump is aggressively addressing the present state of the economy, the Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee, and the Republicans running for Congress must do what the legacy media will not—repeatedly tell the citizenry what their and the nation’s financial future will be if the Marxist-dominated Democrat Party retains the White House and Congress. Despite the media’s unwritten rule, the vast majority of the American people are sufficiently intelligent and involved to understand the economic plight of the United States.
American Thinker
Comments are closed.