, which is the largest of the discretionary items in the budget, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. Put another way, one-third of what Americans pay in personal income taxes goes to servicing our national debt whose largest holders are Japan, China, and the UK.In the past, Republicans railed about deficits and clamored for a balanced budget. No more.
and even that is not guaranteed. The cause for the change is generally blamed on the persistence of inflation. That's true, but interest rates remain stubbornly high and our mounting debt can take some of the blame.If history is a guide, Congress will not address the mounting deficit issue until a major crisis forces them to act. The crisis will likely take the form of a spike in interest rates that the Fed will be unable to control, while buyers of our debt demand higher interest rates.