Here are the legacies that former President Biden did not mention in his self-congratulations: farewell address Last week: The exploding federal debt — $36.4 trillion,from $28.4 trillion In 2021.
That's the past, what about the future?
The Congressional Budget Office recently announced Budget and economic outlook, 2025-2035it's not a very pretty photo. The federal deficit for fiscal year 2025 (starting October 1, 2024) will be $1.9 trillion. This deficit is the amount by which the federal government is expected to spend more than it receives this year.
The situation does not improve in later years. CBO projects that the federal budget deficit will increase gradually, reaching $2.7 trillion by 2035. Sure, entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare are helping that growth, but much of the future deficit spending and interest on all new debt will come. is a direct result of Bill passed by Joe Biden And the Democratic Party.
For example, even if it is a right expenditure federal deficit The budget deficit under President Trump's administration was $0.67 trillion in 2017, $0.78 trillion in 2018, and $0.98 trillion in 2019. By contrast, Biden's annual budget deficit has been well over $1 trillion each year of his presidency, with $1.38 trillion in 2022, $1.70 trillion in 2023, and $1.83 trillion in 2024. Billion dollars. (Omitted) In 2020, the last year of the Trump administration, it was $3.13 trillion, and in 2021, the first year of the Biden administration, it was $2.77 trillion, but due to the government's response to the pandemic and lockdowns. (Because the scale was large in both years).
If the courts, particularly the U.S. Supreme Court, had not blocked some cases, the annual federal deficit, and therefore the total federal debt, would have been even higher.Biden's unconstitutional effortsTo hand out even more taxes.
That's why President Trump's nominee for Treasury Secretary is Scott Bessent told senators. “The United States does not have a revenue problem. We have a spending problem,” he said during his Senate confirmation hearing.
he is right and new quasi-governmental agencyElon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is said to identify billions, perhaps trillions, of dollars in regulatory spending cuts.
It seems that the general public is also participating. According toDecember ActiVote Voting“62% of respondents support DOGE’s mission to reduce government costs…”
Critics will argue that the only way to cut spending is to hurt some of the most important government services. And they will no doubt tell the horrifying stories of the millions of people harmed by potential cuts, amplified by the media. This is an old fear-mongering tactic used to get people to oppose spending cuts by implying that people will starve to death on the streets.
Please don't believe it. There are many low-hanging fruit that can reduce your budget. ofRecent festival reportsA report from the office of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) highlights federal spending that is not only unnecessary but ridiculous. Ukrainian influencers and more! ”
The report adds:“No matter how much money the government wastes, politicians keep asking for more money.” Yes, that's right. Need more report examples?
The State Department allocated $32,596.12 to breakdancing.
The Agency for International Development is spending $20 million on a new Sesame Street show in Iraq called “Aaran Simsim.”
The Department of the Interior spent $720,479 on the Mexico Duck Wetland Conservation Project.
The State Department is spending $123,066 to teach Kyrgyz youth how to spread online.
And there are hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars lost to fraud and “improper payments.” Latest report from the Government Board of Audit.
This is a huge undertaking, and even if DOGE is implemented as promised, it will not be completed in a year. But cutting spending by billions in the first year means those costs won't be repeated next year or the year after, even if DOGE identifies potential for further cuts. When the government's need for borrowing decreases, the economy grows more strongly, government revenues increase, and the need for borrowing decreases even more. It's called the prosperity cycle.
It remains to be seen whether President Trump and the Republican Party will make significant cuts to federal spending. Their words are encouraging, even though Republicans' past actions have not been like that. But if they are serious about undoing Biden's failed legacy, ending the multi-trillion dollar deficit would be a good start.
Merrill Matthews He is a public policy and political analyst and co-author of On the Edge: America Faces the Entitlements Cliff.
