Day 755: National debt eclipses $22 trillion for first time

Trump vowed to eliminate it entirely during campaign.

The national debt has reached $22 trillion, the highest in U.S. history. And there are no signs of its upward trajectory reversing anytime soon.

The debt rises at its greatest rates when the government has to borrow money, like during a recession or war. After the housing market collapse in 2008, the government was forced to borrow significantly to keep the country afloat.

But the U.S. is the midst of a nearly decade-long upswing. Donald Trump loves to boast about the economy and jobs and wages. The borrowing should be minimal.

Surely the GOP — alleged stalwarts of fiscal responsibility — should be concerned about the debt. Recession be damned, when Barack Obama was in office, Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell couldn’t shut up about the long-term dangers of an ever-rising debt.

Trump laughably promised while campaigning that he could easily get rid of the debt within eight years. After more than two in office, the debt has risen over $2 trillion. Unsurprisingly, the GOP is no longer complaining. Rather, while controlling both chambers of Congress, they allocated money for unnecessary expenditures while passing huge tax cuts for corporations and the wealthiest Americans. In combination, the money coming in to the government diminished and the money being paid out continued to rise.

Trump’s economic advisers got on TV and told Americans that the growth stemming from the tax cuts would allow for a surplus that could cut into the debt. In other words, the already-tried under Ronald Reagan and already-failed under Ronald Reagan trickle down economics.

With the deficit continuing to grow month after month, the current administration has woefully failed the fiscal responsibility test.

Then again, that’s not a huge surprise when the man steering the ship has filed for bankruptcy a half dozen times.

755 days in, 707 to go

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