Duetoclashesbetweenthetwoparties,weakgovernanceandhugemilitaryexpendituresdrivenbyColdWarmentality,theUSisnowunabletopaybackitsdebtswithoutborrowingnewmoney.

TheUSSecretaryofTreasuryJanetYellenwarnedthattheUSmightfaceadefaultforthefirsttimeinhistoryonJune1,providedthefailureofraisingdebtceilingup.TheUSPresidentBidenhascanceledhistriptoAustraliaandPapuaNewGuineaandreturnedhometoholdtalksonraisingthedebtceilings.

Partisanpoliticalclashes

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Sincethebeginningofthisyear,politiciansfrombothpartieshaveoffereddealsaboutthenationaldebt,butresultedinvainbecauseofpartisanpoliticalclashes.RepublicanshaveofferedtwooptionsforsolvingthedebtcrisisafterthefederalgovernmenthititslegaldebtlimitinJanuary-$31.4trillion.ThebillsproposedbytheRepublicanswereconditionedwithcuttingthegovernmentspending,forwhichtheDemocratshaverejectedwhoinsistedonanunconditionaldebtceilingraise.

ThedebtceilingisalawfullimittorestricttheUSgovernmentfromborrowingmoney.TheincreaseofdebtalsopromptedtheCongresstoraisethedebtceilingmorefrequently,asithasbeenraised22timessince1997.

TheUShasseenfederaldebtsincreasingexponentiallyinthepasttwodecades.InOctober2001,whentheUSlaunchedthewarinAfghanistan,thedebtnumberwasbarely$5.8trillion.Theamountofdebthasnearlyincreasedbyfivetimesinthepast22years.

Thedebt-to-GDPratiohasalsobecomeexorbitant.UndertheClintonandBushJr.administrations,thedebt-to-GDPratiowascontrolledunder70%.The2008GreatRecessionpushedthedebtratioabove100%,whichhit100%in2012.Thedebt-to-GDPratiokeptsoaringwiththenumberrecordedahistoricalhighof128%in2020.

Clungtomilitaryhegemony

Debtsareintimatelylinkedwithincomeandbudget.ThebudgetandbillsshowtheprioritiesoftheUSgovernmentandtheirwillingnesstokeepahealthyfinanceornot.Themajorspendingsectorsfromhightolowaresocialsecurity,Medicare,Medicaid,military,education,interests,taxcredit,veteransandnutrition.

Partisandifferencesonprioritiesofspendinghaveimpededthefederalgovernmenttocutexpenditures.DemocratsinsistonkeepingsocialsecuritybenefitsandfundsforMedicare,whereastheRepublicansrejectcuttinginvestmentsinthemilitary.Sincetheinterests,whichalreadyamountedto8.8%ofannualexpenses,mustberepaidtoborrowers,theremainingsectorsforspendingcuts,fromtheperspectivesoftheAmericanpoliticians,areeducation,taxcredits,veteransandnutrition.

Partisandivisionandimplementingprogramsbasedonvaluesresultedinlessconsistentpolicies.Anewgovernmentwillsupersedepastpolicieswithnascentprogramsandinvestingoverheadsinit.

TheUSfederalgovernmentalsosuffersfromweakgovernanceandprofligacywhichcompromisedthemfinancially.AccordingtoreportsfromtheGovernmentAccountabilityOffice(GAO)issuedinMay2022,thetotal“financialbenefits”fromreducingfragmentation,overlap,andduplicationacrossthefederalgovernmentamountsto$552billionfrom2011to2022.Thereportsugarcoatedmoneylossassaved“financialbenefits.”Whataboutthemoneywastedforyearsbeforehand?

Insteadofrestructuringtheirdebts,andchangingspendinghabits,theUShasontheotherhand,clungtomilitaryhegemony.

ThebudgetfortheDepartmentofDefenseofUSinFY2023isover$770billion,whichtookmorethanhalfofthetotaldeficitofFY2022.

Intermsofmilitarydeploymentglobally,asof2021,theUShasinstalledabout750militarybasesinaround80foreigncountries.Thestepsofbuildingnewbasesoverseashavenothalted.Earlierthisyear,theUShassecuredaccesstofouradditionalmilitarybasesinthePhilippines.

Eventuallywhopaysforthatexpansion?Andwhobenefitsfromit?Itisclearthatmostofthespendinggoestothemilitary–industrialcomplex(MIC)andnotadimecouldbebeneficialtoaverageAmericantaxpayers.