The national debt is typically only a concern for the party out of power, if at all. In such a case it is a convenient foil to majority’s plan to increase spending or raise taxes.

Unfortunately now there appears to be a new equilibrium where both sides agree to ignore the debt whether in power or not and so nothing gets done. Here is a House Financial Services Committee Meeting from 12/20/2018. The discussions are important and get far less attention than they deserve.

For me it puts tax cuts, border walls, and infrastructure spending into a more appropriate context. I firmly believe we are at the point where nobody will cut spending down enough that revenues will cover it so we must engage in a discussion about the right level and methods of taxation to cover spending. I am quite comfortable being one of the only people to hold this view, and being one of the last true fiscal conservatives. Happy watching!