Federal debt being added in trillions, with no end in sight

NEWS AND OPINION:

In the first 11 months of fiscal 2024, the U.S. borrowed $1.9 trillion, including $381 billion in August alone, according to the latest Monthly Budget Review from the Congressional Budget Office.

This phenomenon has not been overlooked by Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan educational group focused on fiscal policy.

“While everyone’s eyes are on the presidential election, our fiscal trajectory continues down an unsustainable path with things continuing to get worse. The United States has borrowed a staggering $1.9 trillion so far this fiscal year, or an average of $6 billion each day of FY 2024. August was a doozy of a month for borrowing, where we added $381 billion to the national debt,” Ms. MacGuineas said in a statement shared with Inside the Beltway.

“In order for the next president to tackle this issue as they should, they will need to have leveled with the public about the threats the debt presents and what will be needed to fix the problem. So far neither candidate has come close to doing this,” she said.

In numerals, a trillion dollars looks like this: $1,000,000,000,000. And who knows? Maybe a quadrillion will surface in some future report — which looks like this: $1,000,000,000,000,000.

A NOTEWORTHY EXCHANGE

Ian Sams, spokesman for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, paid a call to “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday. In the course of the conversation, co-host Steve Doocy suggested that Ms. Harris appear on Fox News.

“You keep talking about Fox News viewers. She should come on Fox and speak to their concerns directly. We’ve got a big couch here. It would be great to have her on the program, Ian. Come on, invite her. Tell her I officially invited her on ’Fox & Friends,’” Mr. Doocy told the spokesman.

“That’s very kind. And I will relay that to the vice president for sure. And I know, you know, that she’s talked at the White House a number of times to Peter Doocy and Jacqui Heinrich — excellent reporters who are there at the White House,” Mr. Sams replied, then pointed out that Ms. Harris would soon be back on the campaign trail.

“She’s going to be doing more events across the country, hitting the campaign trail just later this week, going to North Carolina, going to Pennsylvania. She’s going to be doing more interviews. She’s going to be doing more events where she can engage directly with voters and talk to them,” Mr. Sams explained.

“Well, bring her on ’Fox & Friends,’” his host replied.

“Say it again?” his guest asked.

“She shouldn’t be afraid. Bring her on ’Fox & Friends.’ You know, if she can’t talk to us, God forbid how she deals with Russian President Vladimir Putin,” Mr. Doocy suggested.

“We ain’t afraid of ’Fox & Friends.’ I’m sitting here talking to you right now,” Mr. Sams said.

“You are indeed,” his host agreed.

“I’m enjoying it very much,” the guest added.

“And I appreciate you stopping by,” Mr. Doocy said.

ABOUT THE ARLINGTON VISIT

“Most voters disagree with Vice President Kamala Harris’s criticism of former President Donald Trump’s visit to Arlington National Cemetery last month,” according to Rasmussen Reports — which has a poll to back up this claim.

“The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 59% of likely U.S. voters believe it was appropriate for Mr. Trump to attend the service on the anniversary of the August 26, 2021, terrorist attack in Afghanistan that killed 13 U.S. troops. Only 30% consider his attendance at the Arlington service inappropriate, while another 12% are not sure,” the pollster said.

The survey of 1,070 likely U.S. voters was conducted by telephone and online Sept. 1-4.

A DISNEY DECISION

Is change coming to a beloved American theme park?

“Walt Disney designed his extraordinary theme parks as homages to America’s history, spirit, and way of life. This has always been particularly apparent when entering Main Street U.S.A, with its idyllic depiction of an early 20th-century small town, and in Frontierland, with its celebration of America’s settlement of the West. Now Disney’s current leadership has announced that it will be demolishing essentially all of Frontierland at the Magic Kingdom in Florida,” Jeffrey H. Anderson wrote in an analysis for The Federalist.

Mr. Anderson is president of the American Main Street Initiative and served as director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics at the Justice Department from 2017 to 2021.

“Disney announced that it plans to fill in the entire Rivers of America waterway and eliminate Tom Sawyer Island. Disney already shuttered the Frontier Shootin’ Arcade earlier this year to make way for a Disney Vacation Club member lounge. After all of this destruction, there will be essentially nothing left of Frontierland at Walt Disney World, save for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad — but that’s a ride, not a land,” Mr. Anderson wrote.

“The planned destruction of iconic Frontierland matters on an educational and cultural level, not just an entertainment level. The Magic Kingdom is the most-visited amusement park in the world, attracting nearly 18 million visitors annually. That’s more than the combined populations of Wisconsin, Arizona, and Nevada. No doubt, many children’s perceptions of America have been influenced by what they’ve seen and experienced there, just as Walt Disney intended,” Mr. Anderson said.

POLL DU JOUR

• 42% of U.S. adults say the debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump “will not help them at all” when they decide their vote for president in the 2024 election.

• 27% say the debate “will not help them very much” when they decide their vote.

• 16% say the debate “will help them a good amount” when they decide their vote.

• 14% say the debate “will help them a great deal” when they decide their vote.

• 1% are unsure about the issue.

SOURCE: An NPR/PBS New Marist poll of 1,529 U.S. adults conducted Sept. 3-5.

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