Via Daily Signal: When Washington Spends, You’re on the Hook. You Deserve to Know for How Much.
House Budget Committee Member Congressman Ron Estes (R-KS) is Sounding the Alarm as the national debt continues to soar due to President Biden’s failed economic policies.
Congressman Estes outlined the massive scale of the debt crisis in an article in the Daily Signal highlighting how the $34.7 trillion of national debt is affecting the average American family more than they think. He argues for passage of H.R. 8372, the Debt Per Taxpayer Information Act, which was introduced by House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) earlier this year.
Word on the Street:
Via the Daily Signal:
- “If our national debt were printed in one-dollar bills, you could make 10 stacks of bills from the earth to the moon. If our national debt were in seconds, it would equate to 1,095,641 years. According to the National Geophysical Data Center, there are just over 321 million cubic miles of water in all of the Earth’s oceans. If the national debt were cubic miles of water, we could fill our oceans 107,638 times.
- Our debt is massive, but not enough lawmakers are concerned about the growing problem. Nor are enough Americans holding their elected officials accountable. When Washington bureaucrats talk about spending, it can be easy for them to simply forget how massive the numbers really are, and the people it impacts.
- As far back as the 1960s, then-Sen. Everett Dirksen, R-Ill., reportedly said, “A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money.” When we discuss budgets and appropriations bills, some members of the House and Senate gloss over the numerous zeros appearing at the end of the numbers, and that disregard for fiscal restraint has put our country in fiscal peril.
- But we are talking about real money—the American people’s money—and they deserve to know just how bad this is in the hopes that they will then demand more restraint from their elected officials.
- As a member of Congress, I make it a point to discuss our growing debt problem with the Kansans I represent nearly every chance I get. I’ve included it in newsletters, mailers, social media posts, and interviews because I believe everyone should know just how dire our fiscal situation is. In order to change our dangerous trajectory, we need more taxpayers to be knowledgeable about how this crisis is affecting them.
- In May, House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, and I introduced legislation informing taxpayers of their share of the national debt, which is now more than $200,000 per taxpayer.
- The Debt Per Taxpayer Information Act would show the true cost to our country by requiring the IRS to display the total federal government revenue, outlays, and deficit; the total gross federal debt; and an estimate of the debt for taxpayers on their annual W-2 tax forms.
- The Debt Per Taxpayer Information Act passed out of the Budget Committee 21 to 4. It’s encouraging that a bipartisan majority recognizes the value of bringing transparency to the problem and making more Americans aware of Washington’s spending, deficits, and debt—and their share of the problem.
- Our country is better when we have an informed electorate. Providing this additional information to taxpayers will help them understand our dire situation and, hopefully, keep their representatives accountable.”
The Bottom Line:
Our country is on an unsustainable fiscal path. The Congressional Budget Office now estimates that our federal debt is nearing $35 trillion. This equates to over $200,000 per taxpayer.
To most Americans, however, these numbers are neither well known nor easily understood due to the immense size and scope of our fiscal woes. The Debt Per Taxpayer Information Act would address this by providing vital financial data on the federal budget to Americans.
Read a fact sheet about the Debt Per Taxpayer Information Act HERE.
