In the last ten years, our publicly held national debt has more than doubled, going from $13 trillion to more than $30 trillion. The chart below shows that in the last ten years our debt-to-GDP ratio has increased from 100% to 120%, and projections show it only continuing to go up.

Debt is not inherently bad, but this trend is simply not sustainable, and it is not fair to future generations who will be left holding the bag.

Deficit spending should be used for things like major infrastructure investments, and in emergencies like financial crises, pandemics, or times of war. Instead, we are going into debt in the ordinary course of running the government. We have run a deficit every single year since 2001, starting in the billions and now running into the trillions.

We are now paying more than $1 trillion per year just in interest on the national debt. That accounts for 13% of the entire federal budget, and exceeds even what we spend on national defense. This ever-increasing line item for interest on our debt crowds out our ability to spend on the priorities we care about.

The growing debt burden affects the entire economy. It increases interest rates, making it more expensive to get a loan to buy a home or car. It slows wage growth and economic growth. And, perversely, the higher interest rate caused by the growing national debt makes servicing the debt that much more expensive.

Start a serious conversation about the national debt

We cannot ignore this growing problem. We need to raise awareness about the issue and have difficult discussions about how to address it.