The U.S. debt ceiling is in the news again.

With the national debt at its $36.1 trillion limit, lawmakers must scramble to raise the ceiling or risk a default. Such debt ceiling gymnastics have become so common that the “game of chicken” played by both parties typically leads to 11th hour compromises and concessions. Yet the need to raise the debt ceiling is symptomatic of a bigger issue: the federal government is broke.

Many will wonder, how can a wealthy country like the U.S. be broke? Well, as a country, we are not. We have an abundance of assets that provides a standard of living envied by people around the world. Even those considered poor in the U.S. would be considered comfortable in most other countries, based on the goods and services they have access to.

For example, 98 percent of people in the U.S. own a mobile phone. Yet more than 11 percent live below the poverty line. This means that a large majority of those living below the poverty line own a mobile phone.

The federal government is broke because it spends more than the revenue it collects. This has been the case for over two decades, dating back to 2001,........

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