Sam Silva ’28

by Sam Silva ’28 on February 5, 2026

Our current national debt is $38.6 trillion dollars. That number is enough to make the Elon Musks, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerbergs of the world wince. You still may be asking yourself, why does this matter to me? I am in college and I do not have any life plans figured out yet. You also may believe that it is not our problem or that we are not the ones who should be held responsible for previous Americans’ poor decisions. It is unfair, but this debt will be passed along to us.

To start, let me break down our fiscal budget. There are two subsections of government spending: mandatory spending, which is legally required for Americans, and discretionary spending, which is approved annually by Congress. Mandatory spending consists of entitlement payments, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and some smaller programs. In 2025, mandatory spending was projected to be around $4.2 trillion. Additionally, discretionary spending, which includes things like defense, transportation, and education, totaled $1.8 trillion. The last and arguably most important part of government spending is interest payments on previous debt, which for 2025 is projected to be $965 billion. It is important to note that our current interest payments are not being used to fund new projects, but rather fund past payments. In total, our government has spent approximately $7 trillion and had only $5 trillion in revenue, which means our budget deficit is approximately $2 trillion. These numbers may seem disconnected from our generation. However, in the near future we will feel the effects of this debt.

Our government is spending at an unsustainable rate. As we spend more, we borrow more, increasing interest payments, and creating a cycle. If we continue down this route, we could default on our debt, meaning we can no longer fund our payments. As a result, the United States would experience a major economic crisis. Treasury securities are known as one of the safest securities. Following a default, confidence would be lost in those securities and most likely lead to a decreasing market. This forethought allows us to look into the future you may want. Activities like saving money, investing, buying a home, or even starting a family become a difficult task. This is because there will be increased unemployment and higher costs for families. As we get deeper into debt, we get closer to default.

It is our turn to enact policies that will cut down this massive debt. It will be a difficult task, as we need to simultaneously increase revenue and decrease spending. The last time the government ran a surplus was in 2001, following the end of Bill Clinton’s presidency. Clinton was the last president to fully address this crisis, where he focused on raising taxes and cutting spending. The problem is, raising taxes and cutting spending is unpopular for many Americans and therefore, lawmakers will not address the issue. Our current fiscal plan does not support sustainability. However, we have a voice, we can pressure lawmakers, we can vote, and we can agree to make political sacrifices that will better our future. If you are interested in learning more, you should visit The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (https://www.crfb.org/), a bipartisan, non-profit that aims at educating the public on fiscal policy.