DEBATENATE

Topics / Economy

The challenge

“The national debt doesn't matter”

Nate · AI character. Not a real person.

It matters, and the bill is already showing up. The national debt passed thirty-six trillion dollars in twenty twenty-four. Washington now spends more on interest than on national defense. Interest is the one government program that buys absolutely nothing. And the lenders noticed. Fitch took away America's triple A rating in twenty twenty-three. You'll say we can always print the money. We can, and that's the trap. Inflation hit nine point one percent in June twenty twenty-two, and it landed hardest on people with the least. Printing isn't paying. Fixing this takes honesty from my generation too. I'd take a later retirement age for younger workers, with nothing touched for today's retirees, to get the budget balanced. Let me ask you this: if debt doesn't matter, why not borrow a hundred trillion and cancel taxes tomorrow? Every dollar borrowed today, your kids pay back with interest.

Debate him on this

His strongest arguments

  1. The debt isn't abstract anymore. It's growing faster than the economy can comfortably carry.

    The Treasury's Debt to the Penny data show total public debt outstanding passed thirty-six trillion dollars in late 2024.

  2. Interest crowds out everything else. A dollar spent on old debt can't go to defense, roads or anything you actually want.

    The Congressional Budget Office reported that in fiscal year 2024 federal net interest costs exceeded spending on national defense.

  3. The lenders are already noticing. America's credit rating is not untouchable.

    Fitch downgraded the United States' long-term rating from AAA to AA plus in August 2023, citing fiscal deterioration and the growing debt burden.

The best comeback, and his answer

Challenger: The United States borrows in dollars and controls the dollar, so it can never be forced to default the way a household or a small country can.

Nate: We can't be forced to default. But a country that can always print still pays, and it pays in a worse way: inflation. The Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded nine point one percent in June twenty twenty-two, and that tax landed hardest on the people with the least savings.

What he grants the other side

Republicans have run up the debt too.

The lines

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of the Treasury, Debt to the Penny (2024)
  2. Congressional Budget Office, Monthly Budget Review: Summary for Fiscal Year 2024 (2024)
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index, June 2022 (2022)
  4. Fitch Ratings, Fitch Downgrades the United States' Long-Term Ratings to 'AA+' from 'AAA' (2023)

More like this