Michael Strain at The Financial Times:
The first step to solve the budget problem is to acknowledge it. But at Harris and Trump’s presidential debate, the word “debt” was not mentioned once. Nor can it be found in the 2024 Republican party platform. Harris makes only passing references to debt and deficits in her campaign policy book, arguing that she compares favourably to Trump. In fact, both candidates’ tax and spending plans would make the problem worse. Each firmly opposes Social Security and Medicare benefit reductions. The CRFB estimates that Trump’s and Harris’s policies would add $7.5tn and $3.5tn, respectively, to the debt from 2026 to 2035.
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For good reasons, Trump and Harris are seen as vastly different candidates and their parties as trapped in gridlock. But if you define what government does based on how it spends taxpayer dollars, there is seemingly a strong consensus. According to my calculations, 78 per cent of the projected increase in total government spending from 2024 to 2034 will come from rising spending on Social Security, Medicare and interest payments on the debt — three items neither candidate or party wants to touch.
