U.S. Debt Reaches $32 Trillion as Analysis Blames Republican Tax Cuts
Updated
Updated · Paul Krugman | Substack · Aug 23
U.S. Debt Reaches $32 Trillion as Analysis Blames Republican Tax Cuts
3 articles · Updated · Paul Krugman | Substack · Aug 23
Summary
$32 trillion is the report’s preferred measure of U.S. federal debt, arguing recent $40 trillion headlines overstate the burden by mixing unlike debt and GDP figures.
Republican tax cuts under George W. Bush and Donald Trump are identified as the main driver, with lost revenue said to have pushed debt far higher than it otherwise would be.
The analysis rejects claims that Joe Biden, broad spending excess or population aging chiefly caused the buildup, while still acknowledging the debt is large enough to warrant concern.
Rising long-term rates and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s effort to push them lower are presented as political noise rather than signs of an imminent fiscal crisis.