Opinion: Politicians seem incapable of balancing the federal budget

"The federal government plans to spend a total of $7 trillion in fiscal 2025 but only bring in $5.16 trillion in revenue. That leaves a deficit of approximately $1.8 trillion. The big four expenditures Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, debt interest and defense account for nearly three-quarters of national spending. All other programs for other Cabinet departments and hundreds of agencies, including for social services, infrastructure, farmers, Amtrak, and on and on spend about the same amount each year as the $1.8 trillion we incurred in debt."

"In 1980, total debt represented 34% of the gross domestic product. This past year, the $36.2 trillion debt equaled 120% of GDP, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Annual interest payments on the national debt are greater than spending for our national defense. Our debt endangers the future of America; Congress has failed us. They know it, but can't bring themselves to address the problem."

"After World War II, Argentina was thought to have great potential to become one of the world's leading, wealthy nations. It had a well-educated populace, great natural resources and a temperate climate. Yet the country has been bedeviled since then by politicians who couldn't stop spending way beyond the country's revenues. This resulted in persistent, runaway inflation and unmanageable national debt. Argentina's promise evaporated. According to the International Monetary Fund, the U.S. has today a per capita income of $89,000; Argentina, $14,000."

The federal government planned $7 trillion in spending for fiscal 2025 while collecting $5.16 trillion in revenue, producing an approximately $1.8 trillion deficit entirely funded by debt. Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, debt interest and defense consume nearly three-quarters of national spending, leaving other programs to collectively equal the deficit. Total public debt grew from 34% of GDP in 1980 to $36.2 trillion, or about 120% of GDP. Annual interest payments on the national debt now exceed national defense spending. Rising health care costs, with about one-third government-funded, drive much of the increased per-capita spending.

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