The U.S. just hit $39 trillion in debt. Here’s the constitutional fix that Congress won’t touch

On March 18, the U.S. House voted 211–207 to advance a Balanced Budget Amendment — far short of the two-thirds majority required to pass it. The same day, total federal debt surged past $39 trillion, or 125% of GDP. That’s up from $5.7 trillion, or 55% of GDP in 2000. On March 19, the Trump administration confirmed plans to seek up to $200 billion in supplemental funding for its war against Iran.

In the face of such numbers, the U.S. House of Representatives failed on March 18 to pass a proposed Balanced Budget Amendment, and the Trump Administration announced its plans to seek major supplemental funding for as much as $200 billion to support its war efforts against Iran.

America has been adding to its record debt at record rates, and Congress has become addicted. Absent a change in course, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that Uncle Sam’s debt will soar to 175% of GDP in 30 years. And those projections were made before the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran began.

If that’s not bad enough, the federal debt is just the tip of Uncle Sam’s financial iceberg. Total liabilities and unfunded social insurance promises exceed $125 trillion. That is a stunning 3.2 times higher than the current federal debt. Despite the federal government’s fiscal time bomb, the U.S. Congress and the President remain with their heads in the........

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