To address the deficit, you’re going to have to look at the biggest drivers of our spending. Social security and Medicare combine for 35% (21 and 14, respectively), then 13% of our spending is on interest on the debt we’ve already racked up, then another 13% on MedicAid. Finally you reach what used-to-be a cash cow of defense spending at 13%.
Our deficit spending has probably already destroyed us. Biden keeps talking about his plan to raise taxes on the wealthy and bring in 500 billion dollars over the next 10 years… meanwhile, we’re adding 3 trillion per year to the debt right now. Hard times are coming. They’ll either be because we do the hard things in terms of cutting our spending, or because the whole thing topples because of the size of our debt.
That’s what’s so crazy about the talk about the Trump Economy. They literally just cut taxes without doing anything about our spending, and deficits soared. Follow that up with COVID spending (direct gifts from the Treasury) and we’re headed into deep, uncharted waters (for us, anyways). Cutting taxes won’t fix it, and neither will raising taxes. We’ve got to make some hard choices or watch it all burn down on top of us.
Don’t blame the politicians. “We the People” keep electing people who give us the best short term gains, and it’s going to end badly. I believe that I’ll see $150 loaves of bread in my lifetime.