In this febrile political era, few issues command stronger bipartisan support than the need for fiscal responsibility. Barack Obama and Donald Trump committed to curtail the US national debt on their respective roads to the White House.
And yet, no matter the party, Americans have been able to count on one thing above most: the national debt will keep climbing.
And here we are again. With Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” threatening to add once more to the US’s huge debts, several Republican senators are threatening to block his current spending plans, with Rand Paul of Kentucky among those highly critical. Departing the White House, Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, branded the bill a “disgusting abomination”.
But this administration is not alone. For decades, economists have expressed concern about US debt. Politicians have repeatedly pledged to tackle it. All the while, the pile continued to swell.
Back in 2008, when…
