The National Debt Debate Continues or Doesn’t

Debates about the numbers and the consequences of red ink

A Peterson Foundation billboard displaying the national debt and each American's share is pictured in Las Vegas, Nev., on Feb. 08, 2022. Bryan Steffy/Getty Images for Peter G. Peterson Foundation

The $30 trillion U.S. government debt is a phony number, critics claim. It’s three or four times that, they say. Persistently high deficits and debts, they add, cause high inflation rates and can retard growth. Critics contend that the nation’s red ink is a problem because, in good times and bad, it keeps rising.

“The official federal debt with Social Security is fast approaching $30 trillion or four times the amount 15 years ago,” Mark Thornton, an economist with the libertarian Mises Institute, told the Epoch Times.