United States National Debt Exceeds $100,000 Per American As Former Treasury Secretary Urges Tax Increases Due to “Enormous Risk”
The national debt of the United States is quickly approaching $100,000 per person.
Data from the Peter G. Peterson Foundation shows that the United States’ national debt has reached $34.15 trillion, which is about $101,591 per capita.
A debt-to-GDP ratio of 122.8% and a deficit of $509 billion have been recorded so far for 2024, with rising revenues unable to offset the escalating debt.
Robert Rubin, a former US Treasury secretary, recently spoke with Bloomberg and said that the US is in a “terrible place” financially. He said that the only way out of this predicament would be to raise taxes.
“Higher interest rates are only one example of how some of the massive dangers are already manifesting themselves.”
“In the future, we will have to handle both expenditure and taxation… In my opinion, tax increases will be your primary tool once you face reality.”
According to Rubin, tax cuts accounted for over 60% of the total deficit that accumulated from 2000 to 2022.
But according to the ex-official, the political impasse has put any hope of resolving the debt issue out of reach, as Republicans are against tax increases and Democrats are against changes to entitlement programs.
“Politics always seems to divide the conversation, with Republicans refusing to raise taxes and Democrats refusing to do away with entitlements.”
While Rubin expresses his optimism that Washington would tackle the debt after the November election, he cautions that he “wouldn’t bet on it.”
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