Another year older and $1.4 trillion deeper in debt

That’s a big reason why the economy still feels OK despite COVID, Russia and everything else that’s happened the past few years. You can live well on a credit card for a while – until you can’t.

I’m writing this on the same day, Thursday, that the federal government was expected to reach its debt ceiling of almost $31.4 trillion, or about $94,000 for every American.

The debt ceiling is a statutory limit Congress periodically debates and then ultimately raises – in fact, it has done so more than 100 times since the end of World War II, according to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, or CRFB.

This lately sometimes happens uncomfortably close to the last minute. Here we are again.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the United States can take what are called “extraordinary measures,” which involves moving money around so the government can pay its bills.

Yellen said the Treasury Department can play these games until around June, when it would reach what is known as the “X date.” If nothing happens by then, the United States government would default, meaning it could not pay all its obligations.

This would be bad because the entire world economy relies on Uncle Sam being the “steady and reliable” relative, not the “crazy” one. Moody’s Analytics said in September 2021 that a default could cost the economy 6 million jobs and reduce household wealth by $15 trillion. Interest rates everywhere would climb.

Congress and the president have some time, and they will use a lot of it to debate and, unfortunately, posture politically. Some Republicans are demanding spending cuts, which is a no-go for Democrats. President Biden has said he won’t negotiate.

This is a little concerning because you’ll recall that it took 15 votes to elect a speaker of the House, and that was just Republicans arguing with other Republicans. This will require a bipartisan solution involving the House, Senate and White House.

The various sides make reasonable points. Biden is right that the consequences of default are too great to play this game. Republicans who are demanding action on spending are correct that the madness of borrowing $4,200 for every American must stop.

The problem is that hardly any elected officials in Washington are talking about what really must happen: They must spend less and also increase revenues, which means raising taxes on some of us and probably most of us.

No elected official wants to raise taxes. But here’s the reality: According to the CRFB, balancing the federal budget within 10 years through spending cuts alone would require cutting all federal spending by 26 percent. If Social Security, Medicare, defense and veterans benefits were excluded, everything else would have to be cut 85 percent.

There just isn’t enough waste, fraud and abuse in the government to cut 85 percent.

How can a “responsible federal budget” be a reality and not just the name of a committee? Elected officials must do what a family would do in the same situation: Sit down at the table for a difficult discussion about priorities, and then figure out what spending should be cut and where additional revenues can be raised.

Groups like the CRFB can provide information, but it’s up to Congress to act. Arkansans will have to rely on their representatives: Sens. Tom Cotton and John Boozman, and Reps. Rick Crawford, French Hill, Steve Womack and Bruce Westerman. They are only six of 535, but at least they have a vote.

They can’t stop the government from going deeper in debt another year. But they can help make it less than $1.4 trillion, which, unfortunately, at this stage would be progress.

Steve Brawner is a syndicated columnist in Arkansas. Email him at brawnersteve@mac.com. Follow him on Twitter at @stevebrawner.