Kerby Anderson

Yesterday I talked about some of the political challenges that President Trump, his administration, and Congress face this year. Today, I want to talk about the economic challenges.

As I write this, the U.S. debt clock shows that the country is currently $36.5 trillion in debt. As you probably know, the national debt has increased under Republican and Democratic presidents and increased no matter whether Democrats or Republicans controlled Congress.

But it is also fair to say that the country’s economic circumstances are much worse four years after Trump left office. Federal spending under President Biden and Congress increased dramatically.

Congress passed a $900 billion so-called “Covid-Relief” bill just after Christmas 2020, as Trump was leaving office. At the time, you could make a case that this was more than enough. But by March 2021, President Biden and Congress passed his $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan.”

Did the country need a stimulus of that size? Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers explained that the spending amount was much more than was needed to address any of the economic issues and warned that such spending would lead to inflation.

Even that much spending was not enough for Biden and Congress. Later that year, they passed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill. He then proposed a $2.2 trillion “Build Back Better Act.” But by the end of 2021, inflation had reached almost seven percent. Some in Congress were nervous about the price tag so they downsized the bill and President Biden decided to rename it the “Inflation Reduction Act.”

This is what the Trump administration has inherited and explains why the Department of Government Efficiency is looking for ways to cut spending.