ublic health care, education and gun laws are the hottest issues in the US election campaign. But neither Democratic nor Republican hopefuls are eager to discuss the burning question of the country’s financial future.
A US dollar with Donald Trump’s face on it
US President Donald Trump is not exactly known for being humble when it comes to describing his leadership credentials. Already in the run-up to the 2016 elections that swept him to power, the then Republican candidate pledged to “eliminate” the $19 trillion (€17.4 trillion) of US debts within a period of eight years.
Now, almost four years later, a look at Trump’s debt reduction record is sobering by all counts. Instead of lowering America’s debt load, figures recently released by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) show the upward trajectory of the country’s financial problems.
Since assuming office, the Trump administration has added a net total of $2.5 trillion in fresh debt, with the US budget deficit in the first four months of 2020 alone rising by 25%. This means that Trump has already spent close to 40% of the entire deficit last year.
The primary reason for the budget gap is Trump’s 2017 package of tax cuts, which he once described as a “great Christmas gift to the middle class.”
With overall US debts spiraling to $22.5 trillion, the CBO now has warned that such a high and rising debt load could pose a severe financial risk to the United States. The nonpartisan agency has estimated that state spending could surpass revenue by $1 trillion in 2020.
