If rising inflation were not enough, every U.S. household also owes nearly $300,000 as their share of the national debt. The current debt has reached about $28.9 trillion, a number that is expected to climb.
“If you divide the $28,908,004,857,445 in debt that the federal government owed before the debt limit was lifted by the 100,424,240 American households that paid net income taxes in 2018, it works out to approximately $287,859 per income-tax-paying household,” economist Terence Jeffrey wrote.
The debt has soared in recent decades.
“Back in 1989, the year that President Ronald Reagan left office, there were 89,178,355 income-tax-paying households in the United States, according to the IRS,” he said. “At the end of January that year, the federal debt was $2,697,957,000,000. That means the federal debt then equaled approximately $30,253 per income-tax-paying household.”
Even adjusted for inflation, the amount would equal only $69,437 per household. In real terms, the current federal debt of $287,859 per income-tax-paying household is more than four times that much.
Congress approved a $2.5 trillion debt ceiling increase, ending months of debate between Democratic and Republican leadership. In a party-line vote, however, lawmakers settled upon an arrangement that will fund the government through the 2022 midterm elections.
Democrats were united in support of the measure, which passed the Senate 50 to 49 and then cleared the House in a 221-to-209. Republicans opposed the legislation en masse, with only one, Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, voting in favor. The bill now heads to President Biden, who was expected to quickly sign it.
Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was among GOP leaders to oppose the debt ceiling increase.
“Our national debt is $28.9 trillion, and today Senate Democrats voted to increase the debt limit by $2.5 trillion, the single largest increase ever enacted by Congress,” he said. “At the same time, President Biden and the Democrats are hellbent on ramming through their radical Build Back Broke agenda to spend trillions of dollars more on socialist priorities, which will drive inflation even higher and make it more expensive for hardworking families to put food on their table, gas up their cars and heat their homes. Americans could not have asked for a worse gift for Christmas.”
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice
