They Make the Debt

I am not one who spends time caring about the federal deficit or the U.S. debt. Compared to the climate change bomb that awaits us, the debt is imaginary. 

However, I know the debt is politically real, especially the way it suddenly becomes important as soon as Democrats are in the White House, and especially if they are also in control of Congress. So watch for that if things go well in November, and especially if they also continue to go well in 2028.

On that note, here's some of what Heather Cox Richardson posted yesterday:

...the deficit for the fiscal year that ended on September 30 clocked in at about $2 trillion, about $160 billion more than it was during former president Biden's last year as president. Next year's deficit will likely be even greater.

How we got to this point...is that the Republicans' 2025 extension of their 2017 tax cuts will reduce government revenues by $4.5 trillion over the next ten years. Their cuts to Medicaid and SNAP reduced spending by $1.1 trillion. That leaves a growing deficit that climbs to more than $4 trillion as the cost of servicing the debt grows.

Economist Justin Wolfers explained: "Washington has discovered a brilliant financial strategy. Cut benefits for people who need them, cut taxes for people who don't, and borrow the difference from people who aren't old enough to vote."

Those numbers...don't include the cost of Trump's war on Iran. The administration acknowledges that fuel and munitions for that war have cost about $45 billion, but the real costs run far higher with the destruction...of U.S. bases in the Middle East. The Department of Defense has asked for an additional $200 billion for the war, and Trump has asked for $1.5 trillion to fund the military in 2027, which...is up 44% from before the war on Iran.

The whole thing is hideous, but it was that last sentence that made me quote it. They want to fund the Department of Defense, which is unauditable, with almost 50% more money next year than before Trump's illegal war started. 

And as I said at the top, we know that as soon as anyone with a D next to their name is in charge, suddenly it will be time to care about debt and deficits again, and anything but the Pentagon will be what gets cut.