Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Israeli media: At least two soldiers killed by anti-tank missile fired at Israeli army forces in the Gaza Strip
Local Syrian sources: Mortar shells fell on more than nine villages in the Sweida countryside
Local Syrian sources: Dozens of dead and wounded have arrived at Sweida hospitals as a result of ongoing clashes at several locations in the western Sweida countryside
Local sources: Civilians, including children and women, were injured in the al-Maqous neighborhood of Sweida, in Syria, as a result of ongoing clashes
Israeli media outlet: Security incident reported in the Gaza Strip
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson: No new date or venue has been set for the meeting between Araghchi and Witkoff, and no negotiations will take place until the outcome is guaranteed
Palestinian platforms: Settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque complex under the protection of the occupation police
Palestinian platforms: The IOF detonated a booby-trapped robot east of the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City
Syrian Defense: We call on all parties in Sweida to cooperate with security forces and exercise restraint
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese Army is continuing its investigations and will later announce any information that does not affect the confidentiality of the investigation

The US is living on borrowed money: NYT

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The New York Times
  • 5 Jul 2023 19:12
  • 1 Shares
4 Min Read

According to the New York Times' editorial board, the US strategy of borrowing money is increasingly unsustainable.

  • x
  • The US is living on borrowed money: NYT
    US Capitol in Washington, DC, on May 11, 2023 (AFP)

According to the New York Times' editorial board, the government debt of the United States is as old as the country itself. In his book "In Defense of Public Debt," economist Barry Eichengreen says borrowing is efficient to mobilize national resources for governments in the face of existential crises like wars or pandemics, in addition to playing an important role in the global financial system to help economic growth.

The editorial board argues that the US has borrowed so much in times of economic growth that its policy has become "unsustainable".

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the yearly federal budget deficits will hover around roughly $2 trillion annually in the next 10 years, in addition to the $25.4 trillion the government currently owes creditors. 
 
The authors note that a large part of the federal revenue that could go toward the people of the US is actually returned to investors who buy government bonds. Therefore, the rich are not taxed but rather paid to borrow money. 

Read more: US debt hits new historic high

The Congressional budget office  (C.B.O) also details that by 2029, the US government will spend more annually on interest than on national defense, and by 2023, interest payments will make up 3.6 % of the country's output.  

Related News

Supreme Court clears fast-track deportations to random third countries

China-US trade falls 10.4% in H1-2025 to $289.36 billion

Prior to the pandemic, a decade of extremely low-interest rates meant that, even as the government debt ballooned, interest payments were manageable. The government debt was nearly twice as high as a proportion of the national GDP at the beginning of 2020 as it was at the beginning of 1990, yet the burden of interest payments was only half as large.

However, the period of cheap interest rates is ending as borrowed money is becoming more expensive. The authors write that it is critical that the nation's leaders set a new route.

When last month Democrats and Republicans reached a deal to raise the debt ceiling, the C.B.O. predicted that the debt would reach $46.7 trillion by 2033. Following the agreement, the total was predicted to be just slightly lower, at $45.2 trillion, meaning 115% of the country's yearly economic output, the highest figure ever recorded.
 
President Joe Biden then stated that even more needed to be done to reduce the deficit and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy expressed that he was willing to form a bipartisan commission to “find the waste and we can make the real decisions to really take care of this debt.” 
 
According to the editorial board, Republicans seem unbothered by the debt and have always passed tax cuts that force the government to borrow more. Meanwhile, they argue that Democrats have grown suspicious of requests to slash spending because apocalyptic forecasts have not come true and because they have learned the painful lesson that agreeing to expenditure cutbacks merely allows Republicans to justify another round of tax cuts. 

They argue that the debt ceiling itself is an issue because it never limited the federal debt and was only enacted to facilitate borrowing.

The debt ceiling should be eliminated before its next planned appearance in 2025 as a first step toward resetting the discourse. President Biden has dismissed requests for his government to seek a judicial judgment declaring the cap illegal. In doing so, he is repeating his error from last autumn, when he failed to push for legislation to eliminate the ceiling. A case already pending in federal court in Boston, brought by federal employees worried that a default would jeopardize their pensions, provides a potential avenue.

Other legal options should be considered as well. It makes sense to seek justice while the ceiling is not imminently approaching. It would also be enlightening if the courts rejected the legal challenges.
 
The writers note that any meaningful agreement will have to include a combination of increased revenue and decreased spending, while Republicans will have to embrace the necessity of collecting what is owed to the government and raising taxes on the rich. Democrats also must recognize that adjustments to Social Security and Medicare, the two key drivers of future government expenditure increases, must be considered. According to the authors, anything else is not a viable solution.

  • New York Times
  • United States
  • US debt
  • Congress

Most Read

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS