OTTAWA COUNTY
$35 trillion in debt
Published October 3, 2024
Written by Adams
Photography by Simply American
“I am not among those who fear the people. They, and not the rich, are our dependance for continued freedom. And, to preserve their independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.” —Thomas Jefferson, 1816
The Government Has No Money
In the last four years, between blowout Covid relief spending and the 2021 Infrastructure bill, Congress has increased the federal debt by $6 trillion. The United States is now $35 trillion in debt and the government doesn’t seem willing to take its foot off the accelerator.
Peterson G. Foundation, July 29, 2024.
The Peterson G. Foundation, “a nonpartisan organization dedicated to increasing awareness and accelerating action on America’s long-term fiscal challenges,” puts the $35 trillion into perspective:
• Every United States citizen now owes approximately $104,000, or $266,000 per household
• $35 trillion is enough to cover a public, four-year degree for every graduating U.S. high school student for 103 years
• Within 10 years, the federal government will spend more on interest payments than it traditionally has on research and development, infrastructure, and education—combined (Peterson G. Foundation, July 29, 2024)
Peterson G. Foundation, July 29, 2024.
Paying For Nothing
A Forbes article, published in February 2024, announced that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) now estimates that this year the federal government will spend more in interest on the national debt than on national defense.
In 2023, the CBO had estimated that the interest payment would exceed national defense in 2028, but instead that will happen this year. The article states, “In 2024, CBO estimates the federal government will spend $850 billion on defense, compared to $870 billion on interest.”
ESSENTIALLY, THIS MEANS HARD-WORKING TAXPAYERS ARE PAYING $870 BILLION FOR NOTHING.
We Must Cut Spending
On May 16, 2024, US Representative for Kentucky Thomas Massie posted on X, “We must cut spending.”
This is true. The government needs to greatly reduce spending and stay focused on core government services. This needs to happen at all levels of government.
To cut spending and save taxpayer dollars, the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners turned down a $900,000 Infectious Disease grant. The grant previously was titled as a Covid grant but was retitled by the federal government. The grant would have been for administration overhead “just in case” there is another pandemic.
If all 3,143 counties in the United States took the exact same grant, that would add another $2.8 billion to the federal debt—spending money the government doesn’t even have.
WITH U.S. CITIZENS NOW PAYING $2 BILLION A DAY FOR THE $35 TRILLION IN DEBT, ACCEPTING GRANTS FOR OVERHEAD ISN’T FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE.
Prediction
The CBO predicts that in 2034, a mere 10 years into the future, the national debt will be $54 trillion—up $20 trillion from today.
The Forbes article continues: “In the CBO’s long-term projections, interest payments will become the largest line item in the budget—exceeding even spending on federal health care programs—sometime in the 2040s… leading to an unprecedented and dangerous economic crisis with rising interest rates, higher inflation, and social turmoil.”
