National debt is a long-term threat to America

Published 1:30 am Thursday, November 13, 2025

With a seemingly endless string of immediate crises (a government shutdown, immigration enforcement, tariff policies, etc.), it is easy to forget about long-term issues.

A recent report by the U.S. Treasury Department, however, serves as a reminder of the dangers that come with failing to plan for the future. In its final report of the fiscal year, the treasury noted that the federal government spent more than $7 trillion in 2025 while bringing in approximately $5.2 trillion in revenue. That means the government borrowed $1.8 trillion to pay the bills — equivalent to more than one-quarter of federal spending.

The national debt is more than $38 trillion. It has grown under both Republican and Democratic administrations, and under every president since at least World War II.

A debt of $38 trillion is difficult to comprehend. To place it in more manageable terms: The federal government owes more than $111,000 for every person in the country. And to illuminate the immediate impact: The United States in fiscal year 2025 paid approximately $970 billion in interest on the debt — more than $2,800 per person.

Economists have differing opinions about the impact of the national debt on the economy, but there is no question that decades of irresponsible fiscal management have created an untenable situation.

When he first ran for office in 2016, President Donald Trump said: “I’m the king of debt. I’m great with debt. Nobody knows debt better than me. I’ve made a fortune by using debt, and if things don’t work out, I renegotiate the debt… . We’ve got to get rid of the $19 trillion in debt.” He also claimed he could erase the national debt in eight years.

At that point, Trump companies had filed for bankruptcy six times — leading to questions about why anybody believed he could manage the nation’s debt; but that is beside the point. The fact is that since then, the national debt has doubled, growing during Trump’s first term, one term of President Joe Biden and again in the first year of Trump’s second presidency.

Debt, obviously, is a combination of too much spending and/or too little revenue. Trump this year implemented the Department of Government Efficiency, appointing Elon Musk to oversee the operation. Musk claimed that he could find $2 trillion in wasteful government spending and started firing employees and canceling contracts; he left the federal government in June.

Through July, DOGE claimed it had saved taxpayers $52.8 billion solely by canceling contracts; an analysis by Politico.com found the total was closer to $1.4 billion. In another example, DOGE claimed that three large contracts provided $6.4 billion in savings; an August analysis by CBS News found that the savings actually were $165 million — less than 3 percent of the amount claimed.

The point is that, for decades, the federal government’s approach to fiscal responsibility has been performative rather than genuine. Unsustainable spending and indefensible tax cuts have ballooned the debt while handing the invoice to taxpayers. Yearly deficits continue to grow the debt and increase the burden of interest payments, and frequent debates about the debt ceiling threaten to label the United States as an unreliable financial partner.

Meanwhile, presidents and representatives of both parties continue to ignore the urgency of the national debt. And if they don’t take the debt seriously, why should voters? The cumulative result is a situation that threatens the nation’s long-term stability.