Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
America’s unfortunate debt consensus
America’s unfortunate debt consensus
Jul 12, 2026 5:50 PM

In an age of deep partisanship and political division, there’s one thing about which America’s political class appears to agree—the public debt being incurred by the U.S. Government. This year, the United States Treasury expects to issue about $1.23 trillion in debt, down slightly from the $1.34 trillion issued in 2018. This was more than double the $546 billion of debt issued in 2017.

For all their talk among the fiscal conservatives that can be found on both sides of the aisle (and, yes, such people do exist in the Democrat party if you look hard enough) about the need to address America’s ballooning public debt, neither the left nor the right seem to be willing to do anything about it.

This is underscored in a recent article published by the American Spectator, entitled “The Credit Card Party,” by Hunt Lawrence and Daniel J. Flynn. “Bipartisanship,” they write, “elusive in Washington on pressing matters ranging from health care to immigration, returns whenever the government seeks to go further into the red.”

The whole article is worth reading, but the authors stress how continued and increased deficit spending is just fine with different wings of the Democrat and Republican parties for different reasons: hence, the emergence of what they call the Credit Card Party. That’s why we’re seen a bipartisan budget agreement that will increase federal government spending while simultaneously suspending for two years the government’s borrowing limit for two years.

This will not, at some point, end well. And everyone will, eventually, pay the price.

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
From the streets of Caracas, Venezuela
Perhaps nothing sums up the situation in socialist Venezuela quite like the photo below. Within just a few feet of a grocery store, people dig through a garbage truck in desperation looking for food. We’ve written quite a bit about the crisis in Venezuela over the past year and today, we’re pleased to bring you a report straight from Caracas. Acton co-founder and president Rev. Robert Sirico interviewed Ricardo Ball, an entrepreneur and financial advisor about what is happening on...
The Christian’s foundation for all knowledge
Note:This article is part of the ‘Principles Project,’ a list of principles, axioms, and beliefs that undergirda Christian view of economics, liberty, and virtue. Clickhereto read the introduction and other posts in this series. The Principle:#2 — God’s Word is the foundation for all knowledge. The Explanation:“Christianity,” as Charles Colson once claimed, “is the explanation for everything.” As Tom Gilson explains, “Of course [Colson] did not mean that everything is explained in the Bible, but that the Bible reveals the...
Redemptive entrepreneurship: In a globalized economy, who is our neighbor?
In our globalized and interconnected world, we inhabit vast networks of creative exchange with widely dispersed neighbors. This leads to real and munities far and wide—a great and mysterious collaboration. But as we continue to strengthen those social bonds across economic life, how do we stay faithful and attentive to our more munity spheres? It’s a challenge for creators and workers across the economic order—to use our economic freedom to meet human needs, but do so through a healthy and...
When red tape hits the homeless: San Diego charity closes due to new restrictions
For the past four years, Deliverance San Diego has been delivering hot meals to the city’s homeless population every Friday, averaging 200 donated meals on any given evening. Now, due to new guidelines passed by the State Legislature of California, the non-profit is ceasing operations and will dissolve by the end of the month. Through their existing model, hot meals were prepared in volunteer homes and distributed on the streets. “Volunteers from various churches gather at 17th and Commercial downtown...
Social science and the evidence for virtue
“Christians have nothing to fear and everything to gain from good social science,” says Paul D. Miller. “It provides a way to talk normatively about human flourishing in terms that are intelligible, legitimate, and persuasive to those outside munity of faith.” How can Christians make arguments that are persuasive to those who do not share their most basic presuppositions? That is the quandary in which Christians—and Jews and Muslims—find themselves as public discourse is increasingly framed, mediated, and policed by...
Venezuela’s ‘man-made failure’: A view from the UK and the U.S.
As Venezuela collapses, so do the dreams of countless Western socialists, who hailed the Bolivarian model as “twenty-first century socialism.” A number of prominent think tank leaders, including Acton Institute co-founder Fr. Robert Sirico, mented on the ongoing turbulence inside the increasingly repressive and authoritarian regime of Nicolás Maduro. To this end, they have produced a number of videos and podcasts discussing the uprisings and implosion of what was once one of South America’s most prosperous nations. Each performs a...
People who are religiously active are happier, more civically engaged
People who are active in religious congregations tend to be happier and more civically engaged than either religiously unaffiliated adults or inactive members of religious groups, according to a new study by Pew Research Center. The findings were taken from survey data from the United States and more than two dozen other Christian-majority nations. Pew finds that in the U.S. and many other countries around the world, regular participation in a munity clearly is linked with higher levels of happiness...
Why governments create inflation
Note: This is post #108 in a weekly video series on basic economics. Most people do not like when prices rise so most people do not like inflation. But there is one sector that sometimes finds inflation beneficial: government. In this video by Marginal Revolution University, Alex Tabarrok explains why governments sometimes use inflation to their benefit—and how inflation can e like a drug. (If you find the pace of the videos too slow, I’d mend watching them at 1.5...
Climate change: Regulations vs. results
Christians believe we should be good stewards of the earth, and for some the issue has taken on apocalyptic dimensions. Yet faith leaders, including the leaders of multiple worldwide munions, have ignored the most effective method for reducing carbon emissions while praising counterproductive policies. There is no doubt about the extent of concern. A recent Gallup poll found that 70 percentof young Americans worry about climate change, and people aged 18 to 34 are the first generation in which a...
Unemployment as economic-spiritual indicator — January 2019 report
Series Note: Jobs are one of the most important aspects of a morally functioning economy. They help us serve the needs of our neighbors and lead to human flourishing both for the individual and munities. Conversely, not having a job can adversely affect spiritual and psychological well-being of individuals and families. Because unemployment is a spiritual problem, Christians in America need to understand and be aware of the monthly data on employment. Each month highlight thelatest numberswe need to know...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved