WASHINGTON – Tonight’s Vice-Presidential debate between Governor Tim Walz (D-MN) and Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) may be the last chance for the Harris and Trump campaigns to address the biggest campaign issue no one is talking about: the national debt.
“With both the debt and interest on the debt fast approaching record numbers relative to the size of the economy, America is nearing a crossroads. Rising levels of debt threaten our nation’s future, but the campaigns are avoiding the issue. America deserves to know how the next Administration plans to address our nation’s unsustainable debt. Hopefully, tonight’s Vice-Presidential debate will provide some clarity,” said Concord Coalition Executive Director Bob Bixby.
“Do the campaigns really believe we can have an ‘opportunity economy,’ in Harris’ case, or that we can ‘make America great again,’ in Trump’s case, without making some hard choices to bring the current debt trajectory down to a more sustainable path? If not, are they willing to engage in bipartisan negotiations to achieve that goal?” Bixby added.
The new Administration will face a series of fiscal challenges next year, beginning with the reinstatement of the statutory debt limit in January, continuing with the end of the discretionary spending caps that will no longer apply to the annual appropriation’s process, and ending with the expiration of key provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in December. Each of these events presents both challenges and opportunities that could lead to either partisan bickering and failure or bipartisan cooperation and success.
But success requires both vision and leadership, which have been in short supply for far too long when it comes to addressing our national debt.
