It’s Halloween – I was asked to tell a spooky story. I first thought about stories about Night Marchers, but then realized I have an even spookier story than that.
Here’s the scariest story I know.
Not long ago, a family was sitting at the kitchen table – wondering why they weren’t able to make ends meet.
In fact, simply sitting there, they were getting deeper and deeper into debt.
Their household income was $77,700. However, that year they spent over $90,000 – they put about 30-cents of every dollar they spent on a credit card.
Because of their spending in the prior years, the family had accumulated about $450,000 in debt.
While that outstanding debt sounds like the amount of a mortgage, it’s not. Unlike a mortgage, they have no house or anything else to show for this debt – it is simply money they owe.
They scratch their heads and wonder why.
This seemingly fictional family is real – these numbers represent the context of the national deficit and the debt (in the context of if a median income family spent money like the federal government).
The US national debt has passed $36.93 trillion. (October 2, 2023)
We keep spending money we don’t have.
Administration after administration, I think it’s pretty clear, folks in the federal government don’t want budgets – they want unlimited spending and no accountability for the money they spend (contrary to the key reasons why budgets are prepared.)
That’s like a family that makes $77,700 a year – and is already up to their necks in debt – blowing over $90,000 a year. It does not make rational sense.
Deficits and debt cost money; it is called interest – paying this cost of borrowing does nothing in providing services and programs for the people today. In addition to the interest, you also need to repay the principal of the debt.
Likewise, to pay off the debt you have to use current dollars to pay back past expenditures – money spent paying interest and paying back past debt does nothing in providing services and programs for the people today.
We had been fortunate that interest rates had been low – their lowest ever … but, now interest rates are rising. More of our hard-earned tax dollars will go to paying higher interest on our growing deficits and debt.
Think about your household – I bet you find ways to cut spending to make ends meet. The folks in Washington, including the White House, don’t even try.
Some say, “we don’t have to worry about it short-term.”
In other words, if you have $7 but spend $9 (and continually borrow to make up the difference,) year after year, it’s OK – let future generations of Americans worry about it (the can is being kicked to your children and grandchildren).
Government should follow the example set by the American household:
- live within your means (have a balanced budget)
- we can’t continue to spend money we don’t have (stop deficit spending and borrowing to cover the difference)
Stop the Rhetoric – Balance the Budget – Reduce the Debt
You can’t spend money you don’t have. You can’t borrow your way out of debt.
For those that still don’t get it, I think I need to repeat this simple, basic thought:
You can’t spend money you don’t have. You can’t borrow your way out of debt.
This is the scariest story I know – and we are all caught in the middle of it, whether we like it or not.
As of August 5, 2025, the US Senate figure for the debt of the federal government is $36.93 trillion. This equates to:
• $108,551 for every person living in the US.
• $279,319 for every household in the US.
• About 82% more than the combined consumer debt of every household in the US.
• About 7.0 times annual federal revenues.
• About 123% of annual US economic output (GDP).
“The federal budget deficit totaled $1.3 trillion in the first nine months of fiscal year 2025, the Congressional Budget Office estimates. That amount is $65 billion more than the deficit recorded during the same period last fiscal year.” (Congressional Budget Office)
“Net interest has been exploding over the past few years, with payments rising from $223 billion in 2015 to $345 billion in 2020 before nearly tripling to $881 billion in 2024. In 2025, CBO projects net interest will total $952 billion, a near-record 3.2 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and interest will eclipse its record as a share of the economy in 2026.” (Committee for Responsible Federal Budget)
Every man, woman and child in the United States owes nearly $110,000 as his or her share of the national debt. Not every US citizen is a taxpayer; for taxpayers, you owe more than $323,000 (as his or her share of the national debt). (Highland County Press)
Scary, isn’t it? Happy Halloween.
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