Staff Reports
Oh, the joys of living in the Biden economy. For most of his time in the White House, President Joe Biden has been patting himself on the back for a pandemic-era dip in the national deficit. But wait – it seems like the party’s over, folks.
The government’s do-gooders over at the nonpartisan budget office have crunched the numbers. Spoiler alert: Biden’s big-ticket items like student loan forgiveness and the unmistakably bipartisan aid to Ukraine and Israel are ballooning this year’s deficit. Just in time to rain on his campaign parade, the Congressional Budget Office revealed that the budget shortfall estimation for this year leaped from $1.5 trillion to a eye-watering $1.9 trillion.
Biden has often claimed he’s a wizard who can conjure up costly programs while mystically containing the national debt. He loved to crow about more Americans having health insurance and a deficit decrease in the same breath. But apparently, his magic wand has a few kinks. The reality check from the CBO shows the debt is still spiraling out of control, growing by numbers that should make any rational taxpayer shudder: $1.4 trillion in 2022, $1.7 trillion in 2023, and now a projected $1.9 trillion in 2024.
To put it into perspective, the largest deficit in the Trump administration before the COVID-19 bonanza was a relatively modest $980 billion. Republicans, including the RNC, are already calling out Biden, especially for the hefty $145 billion tacked on by his beloved student loan giveaways. If there’s a sure-fire way to irk blue-collar voters who responsibly paid their way or didn’t go to college at all, this is it.
While Democrats are busy pointing fingers at Trump’s 2017 tax law for its impact on the debt, it’s clear that Biden’s laundry list of expensive endeavors isn’t helping. Budget hawks are urging both political camps to stop the madness and get a grip on spending. Maya MacGuineas, from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, noted that this debt fiasco should be the no. 1 domestic issue in the presidential campaign. Almost ironic coming from Biden, who seems to excel at spending other people’s money.
Nearly half of Americans struggling because of inflation spike: poll https://t.co/5eCIWux5Mb pic.twitter.com/fdN4dFliWj
— New York Post (@nypost) June 20, 2024
Interest payments alone are projected to devour 3.1% of the gross domestic product this year, with an alarming uptick to 4.1% next year, surpassing spending on defense and Medicare. The decade outlook isn’t any rosier, with a debt projection increase of $2.4 trillion, thanks in large part to those student debt write-offs. Then there’s the grim projection that the national debt could hit 106.2% of GDP by 2027, surpassing the post-World War II record.
Trump’s time in office wasn’t exactly a debt-free paradise, adding about $8 trillion during his term. Despite some attempts by his GOP rivals to spotlight this during the primary debates, Trump clinched the nomination effortlessly. It’s clear the voters are noticing the debt issues. A recent Gallup poll revealed that 36% of voters named economic problems (including the ballooning federal budget deficit) as the top issue, with an additional 21% citing poor government leadership.
So, while Biden might be busy painting a rosy picture, the economic reality looks more like a Monet from up close—messy and chaotic. The numbers don’t lie, and Americans are clearly catching on.
