The Nation That Cried, “Debt!”

James E. Hartley of Public Discourse notes that while the U.S. government faces a projected $2.1 trillion budget deficit in 2026, decades of warnings regarding national debt have not resulted in the predicted economic disasters.

Hartley points out that alarmist claims from 1984, 1992, 2003, and 2009 suggested that high debt would cause recessions, sky-high interest rates, or a fiscal crisis, but these have not materialized. Although the country has faced economic problems since the early 1980s, Hartley observes that government interest rates remained low and the debt did not trigger the forecasted collapses. He suggests that current discussions often confuse distinct economic and ethical issues regarding the federal budget.