Perpetual Debt: A Feature, Not a Flaw
THE CLAIM: Al Jazeera, citing the CBO, reports that US federal deficits and debt are projected to worsen over the next ten years, attributed to factors like the 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act,' higher tariffs, and immigration crackdowns. This narrative positions the debt as an unfortunate, yet inevitable, consequence of various political decisions. THE EVIDENCE: The CBO's own baseline, since its
inception in 1974, consistently projects increased indebtedness. The national debt has increased under every president since Jimmy Carter. For example, during the Reagan administration alone (1981-1989), the national debt nearly tripled from approximately $998 billion to $2.8 trillion, largely due to tax cuts and increased military spending (Congressional Research Service, 2014). This trend
accelerated further, reaching over $34 trillion by 2024. The CBO’s role is to project, not to explain the systemic drivers. THE CONTRADICTIONS: The media narrative often presents a choice between 'fiscal responsibility' (cuts to social programs) and 'reckless spending.' What is rarely highlighted is how the overwhelming portion of the deficit growth stems from specific policies: unfunded wars,
massive corporate tax cuts, and a military budget that dwarfs all other nations. For instance, the 2003 Iraq War alone is estimated to have cost over $2 trillion in direct spending, with long-term costs exceeding $6 trillion, yet it was not paid for through taxation (Brown University Costs of War Project, 2019). The 'crisis' narrative conveniently steers public discourse away from these specific,