The United States’ monstrous federal debt crossed another major threshold on Monday, surpassing 35 trillion dollars for the first time in history. This mind-boggling number equates to $266,275 per household. Over the past 12 months, our rate of increase equaled $74,401 per second.
House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington issued a statement about the disturbing spending landmark, stating, “Today, we grieve yet another dubious milestone in the fiscal decline of the most powerful and prosperous nation in history. President Reagan’s words 34 trillion dollars ago still hold true today. ‘We don't have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much.’”
Earlier this month, Representative David Schweikert dressed down Congress over the federal debt, noting that “74 percent of the spending in this place is on auto-pilot. We don’t get to vote on it.” Anything beyond that, he emphasized, is borrowed.
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“Every dime a member of Congress votes on is borrowed money…. Your government is, functionally, an insurance company with an army.”
Despite the crushing reality of the federal debt and our prodigal deficit spending, Congress’s latest 2025 spending negotiations reveal no sign yet of fiscal responsibility. As The Hill reported, “The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday passed its second batch of government funding legislation, clearing seven of the 12 full-year spending bills for fiscal 2025 overall. The four funding bills advanced with bipartisan support, although both sides went back and forth throughout a Thursday session over a series of issues ranging from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to relief for Palestinian refugees.”
Proposed funding for the Department of Justice (DOJ), which was one of the “largest” expenditures, included many questionable and lavish projects, such as “funding for the Commerce Department and science agencies, boosts for the National Science Foundation, climate research and construction of weather satellites at NOAA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Office on Violence Against Women.”
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Over the weekend, a Chinese newspaper warned, “America’s national debt has become the world’s liability.”
“In short, the US is the world’s largest too-big-to-fail borrower, since the borrower is so large, none of the lenders or investors can afford the US to fail,” the foreign-based reporter wrote, referring to a term popularized by the 2008 financial crisis. In that sense, American debt is really equity, risk-shared with holders in US dollars.”
He also pointed out that “neither US presidential candidate has yet to elaborate a plan of action to address the country’s growing debt,” suggesting that many American lawmakers have resigned themselves to the notion that the national debt may persist indefinitely.
Career politicians may have, but the American people certainly have not. Annually, as Congress continues to saddle future generations with immoral debt, the grassroots call for fiscal responsibility grows louder.
The federal government, as a whole, is entirely unwilling to act. They have drowned out the voice of the people, leaving us with no other choice: we must call an Article V convention, using the Founders constitutional remedy for procuring federal reform to rein in out-of-control spending.
To join us, sign the Convention of States petition below.
