WASHINGTON (TNND) — The U.S. national debt is on track to reach nearly $39 trillion by mid-April, according to a new congressional report that underscores growing concerns about federal spending and the long-term consequences of mounting deficits.
The National Taxpayers Union is renewing its call for a constitutional balanced budget amendment, arguing it would impose fiscal discipline on lawmakers who have repeatedly failed to rein in spending. (TNND)
Data released by congressional Republicans shows the debt is increasing by an average of $6.43 billion per day. Interest payments alone now consume roughly 13 percent of the entire federal budget, a figure budget watchdogs warn is unsustainable as deficits hover near $2 trillion annually.
“The national debt is in a huge emergency situation right now,” said Brandon Arnold, executive vice president of the National Taxpayers Union. “We’re approaching $39 trillion in national debt. It’s a national security problem, it’s an economic problem.”
The National Taxpayers Union is renewing its call for a constitutional balanced budget amendment, arguing it would impose fiscal discipline on lawmakers who have repeatedly failed to rein in spending.
“At its core, it’s a pretty straightforward notion,” Arnold said. “Congress shouldn’t spend more in its expenditures than it takes in through tax revenues every year — the same premise most families and businesses already live by.”
Public opinion appears to favor spending cuts over tax increases. A recent National Taxpayers Union poll found 54 percent of Americans believe cutting government spending is the best way to address the debt and high prices, while just 13 percent said raising taxes is the preferred solution.
Others, however, have proposed more unconventional approaches.
Earlier this month, Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, suggested the national debt could be significantly reduced if Americans delayed retirement and stayed in the workforce longer.
“To start working a year earlier right out of high school, or a year later, not retire, it would generate about $3 trillion to the U.S. economy,” Oz said during a recent interview, arguing such gains could offset much of the debt.
Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has taken an even more sweeping view, warning that artificial intelligence and automation may be the only tools capable of preventing what he describes as an inevitable financial collapse.
“We are 100 percent going to go bankrupt as a country without AI and robots,” Musk said during a recent podcast interview. “Nothing else will solve the national debt.”
Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has identified billions of dollars in government waste and fraud. Still, Musk has acknowledged that cutting enough spending to reduce the debt meaningfully remains extremely difficult.
As the debt continues to climb by billions of dollars each day, economists and budget analysts warn that delays in addressing federal spending could leave lawmakers with fewer and more painful options in the future.
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