‘The consequences of government debt are not merely potential dangers that might occur at some point in the future. They may, in fact, have already begun…’
(Michael Barnes, Liberty Headlines) The national debt is the highest it’s ever been in the nation’s history—and not just in total dollars, but more importantly, as a percentage of GDP.
The previous debt-to-economy record was 118 percent. But that figure came in 1946, or just one year after World War II, the bloodiest and costliest war in human history.
Now, federal debt is 120.5 percent of the nation’s economy.
It’s also about to get a lot worse, according to James D. Agresti, president of the public policy think-tank Just Facts.
While the latest national debt figure includes the massive $2.5 trillion CARES Act, otherwise known as Wuhan virus stimulus, it has yet to account for the bulk of the damage caused by government-imposed economic shutdowns.
This will soon “make the debt ratio significantly larger by decreasing its denominator,” said Agresti.
“Although this decline has already begun, most of it is not yet reflected in the official data on the size of the U.S. economy,” he said.
The numbers are staggering, and the implications are being downplayed in the news media, Agresti contends.
“Contrary to claims that government debt isn’t a major problem, a broad range of facts show that it can have serious negative consequences, such as lower wages, weak economic growth, increased inflation, higher taxes, reduced government benefits, or combinations of such results.”
Amazingly, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is currently pushing for another $3 trillion in government stimulus.
The national debt has been steadily rising since World War II, with the main driver being social programs. Over the past 60 years, social spending has tripled and nearly amounts to two of every three dollars of debt.
Under President Barack Obama, the national debt exploded. Obama’s eight years in office roughly equaled the debt total of all 43 previous presidential administrations combined. Thanks to the Wuhan virus, President Trump in on pace to surpass Obama’s first-term debt.
“The consequences of government debt are not merely potential dangers that might occur at some point in the future. They may, in fact, have already begun,” said Agresti.