Washington.- The debt of the United States is now six times greater than at the beginning of the 21st century. It is the largest it has been, compared to the size of the country’s economy since World War II, and is projected to grow by an average of about $1.3 trillion a year for the next decade.
The United States reached its legal borrowing limit of $31.4 trillion last week, putting Washington on the brink of another fiscal showdown. Republicans refuse to raise that cap unless President Biden agrees to deep spending cuts, echoing a partisan showdown that has occurred multiple times in the past two decades.
But America’s growing debt is the result of decisions made by both Republicans and Democrats. Since 2000, politicians of both parties have made a habit of borrowing money to finance wars, tax cuts, expanded federal spending, care for the elderly, and emergency measures to help the nation weather two debilitating recessions.
“There have been bipartisan tax cuts and bipartisan spending increases” that fueled that growth, said Maya MacGuineas, chair of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and perhaps Washington’s leading deficit advocate. “It’s not the simple story of Republicans cutting taxes and Democrats increasing spending. Actually, everyone likes to do everything.”
Few economists believe that the level of debt is an economic crisis at the moment, although some believe that the federal government has become so big that it is taking over from private companies, hurting growth in the process. But economists in Washington and Wall Street warn that failing to raise the debt limit before the government starts dodging its bills, as early as June, could prove catastrophic.
Despite all the fighting, lawmakers have taken little action to reduce the federal budget deficit they have produced. It’s been nearly a quarter century since the last time the government spent less than it received in taxes.
Because today’s spending programs are so politically popular, and because retiring seniors drive up the cost of programs like Social Security and Medicare every year, budget experts say it’s unrealistic to expect the accounts to rebalance for another decade or more.
The White House estimates that the borrowed money will be needed to cover about a fifth of a $6 trillion federal budget this fiscal year, a budget that includes military spending, national parks, safety net programs and everything else that provides government.
