$40 Trillion Debt Is America’s Greatest Threat

The U.S. federal government is several weeks away from reaching a disturbing milestone, surpassing $40 trillion in debt. The U.S. Senate just left for recess after passing another stopgap spending bill with no offsetting cuts. This avoids a government shutdown before the midterm elections but does not slow gargantuan increases in the federal debt.

In the last 18 years, the federal debt has quadrupled. In that time, has the standard of living of most Americans improved dramatically? While some Americans are doing well, there are 35.9 million individuals in poverty. This huge increase in debt certainly did not benefit the American people. The average American faces $63,340 in personal debt, a figure that has remained steady in recent years.

If the benefits were not shared with the American people, why did our government accumulate such a debt? For much of the past 18 years, America has been at war in Iraq and Afghanistan. These wars cost $8 trillion and the lives of 7,073 military personnel.

In the last 18 years, the federal government bailed out banks, created the Obamacare monstrosity, and dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic by shutting down the economy and spending $4.65 trillion in “relief funds for response and recovery efforts.”

Currently, our national debt per taxpayer is a breathtaking $359,252. This continues to increase as leaders of both political parties share responsibility. Under Democratic administrations, domestic spending skyrockets, while military spending balloons in Republican administrations.

Our federal government spends $7.25 trillion annually, while revenues total only $5.57 trillion. Efforts to address this massive gap, such as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), have been short-lived. While fraud investigations are admirable and will save some taxpayer money, the results will only amount to a fraction of overall spending.

One answer is the passage of a balanced budget amendment, which would require approval by two-thirds of both houses of Congress and ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures. According to House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX), this amendment is necessary because Congress has “failed.”

Arrington supports a balanced budget amendment because it would “impose fiscal responsibility on a body politic that has not done that, that has not mustered the political will to do that. We have a national debt per GDP that exceeds World War II levels of debt. We have an annual deficit that is larger than both the defense and non-defense discretionary budget. Fifty cents or greater on every dollar that we borrow of the $2 trillion going to service our interest payment(s). Half of what we borrow, a trillion dollars, is more than what we spend on defense.”

Arrington is right; a balanced budget amendment is needed and should become a major issue in our country again. Republicans should embrace this challenge and make it a significant talking point in the midterm elections.

Unfortunately, politicians are hesitant because, for every government program, there is a constituency that does not favor cuts. The major social insurance programs of Medicare and Social Security have tens of millions of Americans who depend on those services. There are 75 million Americans receiving Social Security benefits, while 70.3 million Americans are enrolled in Medicare.

These programs have enormous constituencies, who do not want any of their services to be cut. However, action must be taken. On June 9, 2026, the Social Security Board of Trustees reported that the program will become insolvent in 2032. Unless corrective measures are taken, benefits will have to be cut 25% in that year.

Another area that must be addressed is the Department of War. Several weeks ago, the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which authorized $1.15 trillion in spending in the next fiscal year. This does not include the Trump administration’s request for an additional $350 billion in defense spending through budget reconciliation. House Republicans trimmed this amount to $60 billion and are awaiting Senate approval when they return from recess.

The defense budget, as well as spending in every government department, needs to be examined for waste, fraud, and abuse. To address this debt crisis, there needs to be structural changes in our spending across the entirety of the federal government.

The answer to the debt problem is not additional taxes. Every major tax cut given to the American people has led to additional revenue flowing into the federal government. As Americans are incentivized, they become even more productive, creating economic growth and enhanced tax revenue at every level of government.

American families, cities, and states must balance their budgets. It is time that the federal government follows suit. It can be done and was accomplished between 1998 and 2001. In those four years, the budget surpluses totaled $559 billion.

Everything changed after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, and government spending increased, both domestically and internationally. Nevertheless, Americans should question whether the extra spending eradicated the threat of Islamic terror or made Americans any safer.

The spending increases did lay the groundwork for the fiscal nightmare our country faces today, which threatens the financial well-being of the entire country, every American, and future generations.