The More Debt; the DUMBER We Are
The impact of our National Debt is more than just a financial problem. Debt requires (obviously) interest payments. Based on US government data, as shown at this link https://www.usgovernmentspending.com/US_fed_spending_pie_chart the US Government, for 2023, is paying about $661 billion annual ($1.8bn DAILY) for interest on its debt. This is about 2.2 times more than the US government spends for Education. And the result is catastrophically related.
According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) (see below***) scores in math routinely show that only one-third of American 8th graders are proficient in math. Although we would all certainly like to spend more money on education than debt, we have painted ourselves into a corner.
Interest on the U.S. debt must be a mandatory budget item, or the risk of financial default becomes severely increased. The point? What is the purpose of all this excess spending that creates unsustainable debt. It certainly is not improving our life in America if our cherished children are being shortchanged in our educational sphere. Does the U.S. spend money so that many Americans do not have to worry about increasing their educational status? Are we satisfied by giving “handouts” that produce no long-term educational benefits. Educating its people should be a primary concern because that, ultimately, alleviates the burden of government spending, when the people can fend for themselves. I remember the adage, “give a man a fish-he eats for a day; teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime”!
With the US youth’s math skills continuing to be below average we are creating a “dependent” society. In other words, the debt accumulated is not benefiting anyone, other than to “feed the person for a day”. Which is why we cannot curtail social spending because to do so would leave many undereducated people without the ability to earn a decent living for themselves; hence, the debt is destined to continue to rob Americans of vital services, like Education. And by 2033 the amount of interest to be paid on the US Debt is projected at $1 trillion, annually ($2.7bn DAILY).