The National Debt and Fiscal Responsibility: Jonathan Willams on American Radio Journal

The national debt has now surpassed $39 trillion, amounting to roughly $114,000 for every man, woman, and child in our country. The interest payments on the debt now represent roughly 14% of our federal spending, more than the government spends on our national defense and military readiness. Debts do not cease to exist because some politicians prefer not to discuss them. They must ultimately be paid, whether through higher taxes, inflation, reduced growth, or some combination. Yet Washington has not produced a balanced budget since 2001.

This is not merely a fiscal problem, either. It is a national security problem. Former Chairman of our Joint Chiefs of Staff, Michael Mullen, once warned that the biggest threat to our national security is debt. Over the past quarter century, chronic deficits have become routine in Washington. During the COVID-19 pandemic, deficits exploded and inflation climbed to levels not seen in decades, peaking at roughly 8% in 2021.

During the Biden administration, many Americans have now been conditioned to believe that these spending levels are unavoidable, and that mounting debt is simply the cost of modern government. But our 50 states provide evidence to the contrary. In many state capitals, balanced budgets are not slogans, but constitutional requirements. Governors and legislators are forced to make difficult choices, establish priorities, and exercise discipline over spending decisions. These states demonstrate that government can function without endless borrowing and spending.

Indiana offers one of the clearest examples of this. In the early 2000s, the state faced a serious fiscal crisis. By 2005, Indiana confronted a $700 million deficit and reserves so depleted that, at one point, the state reportedly had only six cents on hand. Under the leadership of Governor Mitch Daniels and legislative leaders, Indiana imposed spending discipline, paid down its debt, rebuilt reserves, and restored fiscal stability. The state later cut taxes multiple times and became one of the most competitive states in America for economic outlook in our ALEC Rich States, Poor States report, while earning a AAA credit rating from all three major rating agencies. In 2018, Indiana adopted what many regard as the gold standard of balanced budget amendments.

Similar fiscal discipline can be found in states such as Utah, Tennessee, Florida, and Arizona. The contrast with chronic deficit states like California, Illinois, and New York could scarcely be clearer. Even Colorado, a blue state on the political map, still features its Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR, in the state constitution. This tax and expenditure limit restrains the national tendency of government to grow more quickly than its hard-working taxpayers can afford.

Thankfully, important efforts by the Trump administration in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in Washington, as well as the new task force to eliminate fraud, will address commonsensical ways to reduce federal waste, fraud, abuse, and spending. These actions are clearly needed, and they’re steps in the right direction. Initiatives such as DOGE, along with the work led by Russ Vought at the Office of Management and Budget, the OMB, reflect an understanding that fiscal discipline is a governing necessity.

Let’s not forget: our debt and deficits were not caused by a lack of tax revenue. Since 2017, and the passage of the important pro-growth Trump tax cuts, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, real federal revenues have increased by 25%. Washington, D.C. does not have a revenue problem, ladies and gentlemen. It has a massive spending problem.

When polled, Americans fortunately realize what’s at stake. Large majorities of Americans support a federal balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. The states show that this path is possible. They demonstrate that government can meet its essential obligations without sinking the country further into multi-generational debt.

Our members at ALEC, partnering with the state financial officers, are planning to deliver this message once again to our leaders in Washington, D.C. Fiscal turnarounds such as Indiana’s are not miracles; they’re the result of political leaders willing to make choices grounded in arithmetic rather than rhetoric. The federal government would do well to learn from them before the costs of delay become impossible to ignore.