Balance the budget to lower the federal debt

Issue 12 • Week of April 3, 2022 / Updated May 30, 2023

Last week, we saw how the average American spends nearly $280K in their life just on interest due in part to a lack of financial literacy. Households are also now responsible for almost that much to pay down the federal debt as we already spend nearly $1 billion per day on interest – as much as on R&D, infrastructure, and education combined. Citizens should demand answers to this unsustainable debt, now $30 trillion, especially when most Americans will again pay to file their taxes over the next two weeks despite that tax returns are not even required for many people in 36 other countries.

Unfortunately, individuals are projected by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to contribute a higher percentage of tax revenue in coming years while corporations' share will decline. Debt accumulates so quickly that documentaries on the topic become outdated the minute they are released.

Of course you could donate to reduce the debt or volunteer to pay someone else's taxes, but those would be drops in the ocean. It's equally unrealistic to think we can or even should pay off all of the entire federal debt within a few years. Most would agree, however, it should remain under 100% of GDP and that is certainly a surmountable goal.

The question is how?