How Magical Thinking Led America to $30 Trillion in Debt
The comments below are an edited and abridged synopsis of an article by Andrew Tisch
The people in charge in Washington, D.C. keep conjuring fantasies that defy belief. You can now say a multitrillion dollar federal spending bill costs zero dollars. You can claim tax cuts pay for themselves. You can even say the government doesn’t need tax dollars to fund anything at all because it can create money.
Unfortunately, Americans are paying a heavy price for this magical thinking. Inflation is running at its highest rate since 1982.
Meanwhile, the Treasury Department recently reported America’s national debt is now over $30 trillion—the highest ever.
It’s no secret that Washington spends recklessly. What’s less known is just how much an obscure 50-year-old law enables this behaviour. Fixing it might hold the key to the US digging out of the fiscal mess it’s in.
Tisch discusses passing major legislation in Congress; magical accounting; a world of $30-trillion deficits; and common-sense reforms.
“Will the fiscal Wizards of Washington resist these reforms? Probably, because honest and transparent accounting makes it harder for elected officials to cast the magical economic thinking spells they apparently teach at Hogwarts.”
“None of this will be easy, so I can understand why you might think there’s a better chance of our politicians pulling a blue donkey or a red elephant out of a hat than getting our fiscal house in order.”
“But the time has come for Washington to abandon the illusions and deal with the reality of a debt problem that threatens the security and the livelihoods of every American for generations to come.”