Newly-minted US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces a frightening task: attempting to avoid a US debt default. As I actually have discussed again and again before, nothing has been the identical for the reason that US housing bubble and near-collapse of the banking system that produced an expensive bailout of seemingly all financial institutions. After 2008, Federal spending has gone uncontrolled. The budgetary hawks (or pigeons) within the US House of Representatives (with Pelosi, Boehner, Ryan then Pelosi again) went on Federal spending sprees of epic proportions.
The Manhattan Institute has a pleasant chart showing the explosion within the Federal budget since 2008. Of particular note, interest payments on the Federal debt has increased by a staggering 192%. On the non-interest spending front, Social Security and Health Entitlements have increased by 140% while Nondefense Discretionary Spending has increased 76%.
The large increase in Federal debt interest is as a consequence of each increased Federal spending and rising rates of interest because of The Federal Reserve raising rates to fight inflation.
But what’s going to McCarthy and House Republicans recommend cuts in? Tighter restrictions on who qualifies for Social Security and particularly Social Security Disability payments?
The odd factoid is that Defense and Wars budget is up lower than 1% from 2008 to 2032. So, Ukraine military aid is coming from somewhere, but not from the Defense budget. Is Ukraine one other entitlement program?
Rest assured that after debate, the House will pass a budget and, provided that virtually nothing was cut, the Senate will gleefully conform to more spending and “Top Secret Documents” Biden will sign it.
After he parks his gorgeous Corvette Sting Ray, that’s.
