We can use basic economics to motivating Washington to solve the U.S. national debt

When New York's Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warned that the world would end in 12 years due to climate change, she fell short of noting the U.S. national debt as another contributing factor. The federal government owes $121,600,000,000,000. That’s eleven zeros trailing off that six, making it in the trillions. And of the $121.6 trillion, $32 trillion is interest-bearing debt, and $76 trillion is unfunded liabilities of the federal government. Those numbers are from the last financial report available from the government on Sept. 30, 2022, and it’s increased since then.

Your share of it is $368,000 . . . and climbing.

The $121.6 trillion debt on the collective government credit card is beyond comprehension, and the trends today will make it even worse in the future. The Congressional Budget Office, the government agency that makes nonpartisan estimations, projects large and growing deficits indefinitely based on current policy. And that’s before some of the new, unpaid-for programs being proposed today. By 2033, the CBO projects the interest-bearing debt to grow by $19.5 trillion. That will bring our interest-bearing part of the debt to over $50 trillion.

The colossal debt owed by the federal government might eventually lead to the economy collapsing and mass starvation. Let that sink in. Economic instability has just as much of an impact on the food on your table as climate change. And not a lot of people are blowing their horns about economics like they are the environment.

I have watched our economic direction for years, but now I see a major problem coming as a result of our enormous debt. Even though I have only a fundamental education in economics from college and after a few years through working in business, I realized that many folks never had, or nowadays get, a chance to learn about economics. So I learned more about it and got involved in economic education on a local basis. To put it simply, I’m a deeply concerned citizen who cares about what is happening in our country. That’s why I got involved in the beginning.

I’m not here to promote any cause or political side. I do my best to keep things nonpartisan. Not Republican or Democrat. Not left or right. My only goal is to educate and alert people to the difficulties we face as well as which policies might best help solve these problems. I won’t tell you how to vote, but I’ll arm you with the facts so you can vote your conscience. A better-informed voting public allows you to vote intelligently for those who propose policies you favor and make good economic sense.

These officials will be elected by you. You and your vote will determine the future of this country: how well we live or what serious economic problems could bring us down. There are always many issues facing every country because nothing is ever perfect, but this is especially true for the United States today. We face some very daunting problems.

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That’s why I’m urging the voting public to take the time to learn and understand what is going on in the U.S. today. With the way our world is right now– you need to understand economics more than ever before. Rich or poor, young or old — the decisions being made in Washington, D.C. affect us all.

Leslie A. Rubin is the founder and CEO of Main Street Economics, a public service, nonprofit dedicated to educating Americans about basic economics, the national debt crisis, and how it can be fixed. You can learn more in Rubin’s new book, “Why You Should Give a Damn About Economics: The US Debt Crisis and Your Future,” available everywhere April 16.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: U.S. national debt: Motivate Washington to act through basic economics