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If you're implying that we need to madly slash all government operations, I think that's pretty misguided. We're actually running a secondary surplus right now

• 7Figures2Commas 13y ago
  > If you're implying that we need to madly slash all government operations, I think that's pretty misguided. I am always amused when folks take a simple statement ("It's astonishing that, in a nearly 3,000 word speech calling the United States a 'horror show', the word debt is used not once.") and read into it suggestions that are neither expressed nor implied. > We're actually running a secondary surplus right now, given that the rate of inflation is higher than the extremely low interest rates on our national debt. There are always justifications for reckless behavior ("Yes, I'm spending a lot of money, but I'm paying 0% interest for 18 months thanks to my new credit card's introductory offer!"), but given that interest rates can't get much lower, an exercise you might find valuable is to calculate the cost of servicing the national debt as interest rates rise. For reference, although the CBO isn't great at predicting the future, they expect the interest rate on the 10y to be at 5.2% in 2023 and that annual interest payments on the debt will be $823 billion.