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America’s Growing Deficit: Why Trump and Harris Aren’t Addressing the Elephant in the Room

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Not long ago, presidential candidates focused on reducing the budget deficit or eliminating it entirely to win over voters.

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However, with the dangers of a growing deficit and mounting debt looming larger than ever, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are making minimal efforts to address the issue. In fact, several nonpartisan groups project that both of their economic policy agendas would add to the deficit if enacted.

 

This is a significant concern, as the implications of a widening deficit impact everything from housing affordability to the government’s ability to respond to emergencies like COVID-19.

A budget deficit occurs when a country’s spending exceeds its revenue, mainly collected through taxes. The government covers the shortfall by borrowing money through securities like Treasury bonds. Under current policies, the deficit is expected to grow and could worsen with proposals from both Trump and Harris.

The U.S. is already drowning in debt, with the federal debt sitting at $28 trillion—nearly equivalent to the entire U.S. economy. Even Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who rarely comments on political matters, has voiced his concern. “It’s probably time, or past time, to get back to an adult conversation among elected officials about getting the federal government back on a sustainable fiscal path,” Powell said in a “60 Minutes” interview earlier this year.

 

During the Trump-Harris presidential debate, the deficit was mentioned only twice when Harris criticized Trump’s proposals, which are projected to increase the deficit more than hers. However, neither candidate discussed plans to reduce the deficit, and debate moderators failed to bring up the topic.

Maya MacGuineas, president of the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, warns that no matter who wins the presidential election, there will be a “mandate to make things worse unless something changes.” She noted that the debt burdens carried by both candidates’ plans would undermine their agendas to support American families.

 

A Look Back at Fiscal Responsibility

In the 2008 presidential debates, then-Senator Barack Obama stressed the importance of fiscal responsibility, saying, “There is no doubt that we’ve been living beyond our means, and we’re going to have to make some adjustments.” Obama was a strong advocate of “pay-as-you-go” policies, balancing every dollar of proposed spending with an equivalent cut.

The 2016 debates saw similar conversations, with Republican nominee Mitt Romney declaring, “My number one principle is there’ll be no tax cut that adds to the deficit.” The focus was on deficit reduction, a far cry from today’s political climate.

By the time Trump took office in 2017, the deficit began to grow, and national debt levels rose each year. This trend accelerated in 2020 when government spending surged in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The U.S. ended the 2021 fiscal year, Trump’s last in office, with a staggering $2.8 trillion deficit.

 

Why the Deficit Matters

Larger deficits increase the nation’s debt burden, making the U.S. more reliant on foreign creditors like China and Japan. As debt levels rise, creditors may demand higher interest rates, which could trickle down to everyday Americans through higher mortgage rates and other borrowing costs.

Increased interest payments on national debt also reduce funds available for critical investments, such as infrastructure and social programs. According to the Congressional Budget Office, interest payments are projected to outstrip spending on national defense, Medicaid, and child-focused programs in the 2024 fiscal year.

Federal Reserve Chair Powell put it plainly: “We’re borrowing from future generations,” warning that we must pay for current expenses instead of passing the financial burden to our children and grandchildren.

Economist Kent Smetters highlighted another risk: unchecked deficit growth could force the Federal Reserve to “print more money” to help the government manage its debt, potentially triggering inflation.

 

Why the Silence on Deficit Reduction?

“Politicians love to deliver gravy and not the spinach,” Smetters, the faculty director of the Penn Wharton Budget Model, said, pointing to the political reluctance to make difficult fiscal decisions. Both Republicans and Democrats aim to secure their priorities—tax cuts and increased spending, respectively—before acknowledging the need for sacrifice.

COVID-19 and the Great Recession have also numbed voters to the dangers of rising debt, with many seeing government borrowing as a necessary evil during crises. However, MacGuineas stressed that reducing the debt burden could accelerate economic growth and secure funding for social safety net programs in the long term.

“If there’s deficit denial at the top, what voter is going to say, ‘Please raise my taxes and cut my spending’ if their leaders aren’t even saying it’s a problem?” she asked.

 

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