Concerns about U.S. debt and deficits hit its political peak in the early 1990s when presidential candidate Ross Perot attempted to dazzle viewers with charts and graphs showing just how dangerous it could be to spend more than we brought in. As recently as 2016, there was still a dedicated—but relatively small—group that would speak up strongly when the federal budget was being debated.
Republican U.S. Rep. David Schweikert is one member of that unofficial group, and he says it’s still a concern.
"My fear — and actually i see it in the math — is now the financing cost of the debt, even though there's remarkably low interest rates," Schweikert said. "And our demographics that we're up against over the next 30 years — let's face it, the baby boomers are getting older and moving into their earned entitlements. You're actually going to see the cost of managing the debt consuming much of the available cash at the federal level."
The federal budget deficit for the 2021 fiscal year is nearly $1 trillion, and the debt is estimated at more than $24 trillion. And as emergency spending measures have been taken to fight COVID-19 — including assisting small businesses — the debt is only going to grow. But how much does that matter right now?
To learn more, The Show spoke to Robert Bixby. He is Executive Director of the Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan organization founded as a source of information about federal debt.
