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“The national debt of the United States government is rapidly closing in on $37 trillion. Given that the nominal U.S. GDP is only $29.35 trillion, we owe significantly more than our economy produces. The interest payment alone on the debt is now the third-highest line-item expense, just after Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security.” - Breakpoint

Discussion

Thu, 10/23/25

This quote, "God’s assessment of the approach our government is taking is just as clear: “The wicked borrows but does not pay back” (Psalm 37:21)."

Is. not entirely accurate. The government is paying it back. Painfully, but still being paid back. Government debt is key component of maintaining the country and monetary policy. It is challenging to take Scripture that is meant for an individual and convey it to a government entity. No debt can be very damaging to an economy. With that said, I do agree the level of debt within the US is not great, but it appears both parties are fully willing to spend, spend and spend to accomplish their perogatives.

Thu, 10/23/25

The problem is deep. Our spending is disconnected from how much money we can tax and spend.

So there is no compelling reason (requirement) for our government not to spend money.

So any program that seems nice gets funded.

25 years ago, we had voices calling for a balanced budget amendment. Now, other than Rand Paul, no one seems interested in spending less.

I don’t see how we stop until we hit the cliff.

Tue, 10/28/25

I asked an AI to analyze the article. It agreed with a lot of it but said the historical examples of national collapse are a bit too complex to be a very strong argument. That tracks with my perceptions.

But it also said this about one factual claim in the article:

The Major Error:

✗ “Interest even surpasses our total federal tax revenue” - This is completely wrong and frankly a disqualifying mistake for any debt analysis.

Federal revenues in 2025 total $5.2 trillion, or 17.1 percent of GDP Congressional Budget Office. Interest is $880 billion. So interest is about 17% of revenue, not exceeding it.

If interest actually exceeded revenue, we’d literally be unable to pay for anything else - not defense, not Social Security, nothing - without borrowing just to cover interest. That’s not the situation we’re in.

Haughty tone aside, it might be correct that the interest vs tax revenue claim in the article is quite wrong.

I’m not sure that weakens the thesis much though.

Another AI on the interest vs tax revenue question:

The interest payment alone on the debt… even surpasses our total federal tax revenue. Federal interest payments in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 were approximately $970 billion. Total Federal Revenue in FY 2025 was approximately $5.23 trillion. This specific claim is inaccurate based on total revenue. Interest payments ($970B) are significantly less than total federal revenue ($5.23T). However, the article’s underlying concern about the rising cost of interest is highly accurate and supported by data:

It then coughed up a spreadsheet I’m not going to try to process or post.

So I think the interest vs. tax revenue point is very likely wrong in the article.

What about the “it’s because we’re sensate” thesis, though? I’m not sure about the particulars. We could definitely stand to be more ‘big picture’ oriented as a culture, though! Our politics is full to bursting of “let’s do this because we can and today it’s a win… and don’t bother me with long term consequences.”

Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.