Our debt is $39 trillion. Interest is $1 trillion. How did this happen? If we just look at the tenures of the living presidents, we can track that situation and an allied one: the increase in the wealth of the affluent.
Under Clinton we increased taxes on the wealthy and decreased them on the poor. The result was a debt of $5.6 trillion that was being paid off.
Under George W. Bush there was an immediate tax cut that greatly favored the top 1%. The debt rose to $10.6 trillion.
Under Obama there were some small tax cuts for the working class, but the Great Recession required major spending to keep the economy afloat. Debt rose to $19.4 trillion.
Under Trump (first term) there was a tax cut that favored the wealthy. Debt rose to $27.75 trillion.
Under Biden there was an unsuccessful attempt to raise taxes on the wealthy. But the major economic hit was the spending required to prevent a pandemic-induced recession. Debt rises to $36.2 trillion.
Trump returns to office and initiates the “Big Beautiful Bill” that extends his first term’s expiring tax cuts. The cuts favor the wealthy (2% if you earn $50,000 and 5% to 10% if you earn $1,000,000). Current debt is $39 trillion. With the war in Iran, return of the illegal tariffs, ballrooms, arches and slush funds, to name a few, it would seem the debt can only rise.
Over the last 40 years, the wealth transfer to the rich has been on steroids. The top 1% are worth $113 trillion. Might we collect a little bit of that to pay down our debt and maybe give a tax cut to the less affluent?
Pat Gillespie, Canton
This article originally appeared on The Repository: US debt rises as wealthy get richer | Letter
Reporting by The Repository / The Repository
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