According to the economist Thomas Sowell, “The first lesson in economics is scarcity. There isn’t enough to satisfy everyone. The first lesson in politics is to ignore the first lesson in economics.”
For decades, many complained about the rising national debt. Yet, Congress continues to vote for spending that far exceeds tax receipts. Over the last four years, this pattern has become as bad as ever.
How bad is it?
In 2019, amid a booming economy, federal spending exceeded tax receipts by almost $1 trillion. This brought the nation’s publicly held debt to $16.8 trillion. As bad as these numbers were, during the past four years the United States added another $9 trillion in national debt. This year government will add another $1.5 trillion, or more:
Year Federal Deficits 2020 $3.1 trillion 2021 $2.8 trillion 2022 $1.4 trillion 2023 $1.7 trillion 2024 $1.6 trillion (estimate)
