What America’s $39 Trillion Debt Looks Like On A Family Budget

It’s hard to comprehend the true scale of the fiscal disaster in Washington D.C. While most Americans feel the impact when gas or milk prices increase by even a nickel, Washington borrows almost $5 billion a day without batting an eye.

The difference between the ridiculous $18.1 trillion in debt from back in 2015 and the ludicrous $39 trillion debt of today seems inconceivable. Numbers this big just don’t seem real.

But if we think of our federal government finances in terms of a family budget, the problem becomes much clearer. So let’s talk about a hypothetical family – The Havernots. The Havernot family earns just under $66,000 a year, which is the same as the average American worker. That equates to a weekly paycheck of $1,266 or monthly earnings of $5,486, before taxes and other deductions.

Most families budget their income and expenses in a responsible manner – carefully allocating their money to basic necessities like housing, utilities, and groceries, while saving what they can for other purposes like retirement, unexpected expenses, and the occasional vacation. That’s the responsible way to manage your finances.

But that’s not how the Havernots live. They spend money in the same manner as the federal government. So for the purposes of this example, we have scaled down the federal government’s income (primarily tax collections) and expenditures (outlays for government programs and, increasingly, interest on the national debt), to match the Havernots’ financial situation.

Once again, the Havernots earn nearly $66,000 and, like the federal government, spend far more than they bring in. In proportion to the federal government, they spend just over $86,500 a year, meaning they have to borrow more than $20,500 annually to cover their expenses. On a monthly basis, the Havernots bring in almost $5,500 while spending a little more than $7,200 a month, a recipe for financial disaster.

Of course, like the federal government, they’re already saddled with a hefty amount of debt due to many prior years of fiscal irresponsibility. The federal government is approaching $39 trillion in debt. That equates to a current debt burden of over $373,000 for the Havernots.

If, like the Havernots, you are currently $373,000 in debt and are adding $20,500 to that debt load each year, you had better have a good plan in place to get your finances in order, with Dave Ramsey on speed dial.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case for the federal government. Looking at projected finances for the federal government, things are going to get much, much worse. On a positive note, government revenue collections are projected to increase by 49.7% over the next ten years, and expenditures are expected to grow by 53.6% over that same period. The total federal debt will grow by 76%.

That means the outlook for the Havernots is equally depressing. Looking down the road 10 years, their income would increase from $66,000 to just over $98,500, which is great news. Until you realize that their annual expenditures grow from about $86,500 to about $132,950 over that same period, forcing them to borrow more than $46,000 annually. And their total debt burden has grown from $373,000 to more than $656,500. This is an unsustainable trajectory for the Havernots.

The silver lining for the Havernots is that some of their spending is being used to improve their financial standing. For instance, by steadily paying off their auto loan and mortgage, the Havernots will, in time, fully own their car and home. But the debt our nation is racking up isn’t putting us on a path to homeownership; it’s careening us toward homelessness.

The Havernot family’s disastrous situation should make it clear: President Trump and Congress need to work quickly to turn our nation’s finances around. There is no magic wand or silver bullet to reverse decades of fiscal irresponsibility, but there is hope.

The best option is a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as it would guard against the gimmicks and end-arounds that Congress regularly employs to skirt budgetary restraints.

A second-best option is creating a bipartisan debt reduction commission with the ability to push an aggressive plan directly to the floor of the House and Senate for a vote.

No matter the approach, it’s imperative for everyday Americans to make their voices heard in Washington if things are ever going to change.

And policymakers – just like the Havernots – need to gather around the kitchen table for an honest conversation about our current predicament and a sincere attempt at doing the right thing.

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Brandon Arnold is Executive Vice President of National Taxpayers Union.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.