National Debt — Honest Accounting, Honest Priorities

The debt is the product of four deliberate policy choices: tax cuts for the wealthy, a $696 billion annual tax evasion crisis Congress refuses to address, a Pentagon that has failed 8 consecutive financial audits, and a healthcare system that costs twice the OECD average. Each is reversible.

Debt held by public reached approximately 100% of GDP in early 2026 — the highest since World War II. CBO projects 156% of GDP by 2055 under current law; 214% if expiring tax cuts are extended. Net interest reached $949 billion in FY2024, up 34% from the prior year, now approaching the entire defense budget.

The CAP analysis is definitive: 57% of the debt ratio increase since 2001 is attributable to Bush and Trump tax cuts — over 90% when one-time recession and COVID costs are excluded. Cumulative revenue lost exceeds $10.6 trillion, disproportionately benefiting the top 1% and corporations.

The IRS estimates $696 billion per year in taxes owed but not collected. The top 1% accounts for ~28% of the gap. Every dollar auditing the top 0.1% returns $26 in collected revenue. Congress eliminated nearly all of the $45.6 billion in new IRS enforcement funding from the Inflation Reduction Act — a deliberate policy choice to allow wealthy tax evasion to continue unchecked.

For fiscal stability, the Clinton era is the empirical proof. Raising the top rate from 31% to 39.6% in 1993 produced 22.7 million jobs, 3.9% unemployment, surpluses by FY2000, and debt-to-GDP falling from 47.8% to 31.4%. This is the single most important data point in the US tax debate. It is not theoretical. It happened. Fiscal health and progressive taxation coexist.

For American families, the debt ceiling is abolished — no more hostage-taking. Government shutdowns cost Congress their paychecks, not federal workers' livelihoods. The Pentagon is required to pass audits or forfeit budget increases — the $1 trillion/year in unaccountable spending ends. Social Security and Medicare are protected absolutely, funded through eliminating the payroll cap that currently lets the top 6% pay less on the margin than the bottom 94%.

For healthcare costs, single-payer saves $650 billion/year nationally. The US spends 17.2% of GDP on healthcare (global high) vs. an OECD average of 11.2%. If the US matched per-capita spending of Germany, total healthcare costs would fall by $1.4 trillion annually — effectively eliminating the entire federal deficit. Families no longer bankrupt by medical emergencies.

For intergenerational investment, borrowing is structured around returns. Pre-K returns $7–17 per dollar (Heckman). Infrastructure generates 1.5× multiplier (CBO). SNAP generates 1.7×. The Human Genome Project returned 141:1 ROI. High-income tax cuts return 0.1–0.2× — the worst use of borrowed money ever measured. The plan refuses to borrow for tax cuts and commits to borrowing for high-return investment.