America is a beacon of freedom worldwide, yet the biggest threat to that freedom is a crushing national debt that has saddled future generations in the order of tens of trillions of dollars. The Trump administration is doing what it can to cut spending, but Congress is not yet on board. The evidence contained in the House and Senate budget blueprint proves that Congress has yet to take our national debt seriously. The result of Congress not tackling debt is a looming crackdown on economic and personal freedom as the federal government expands on top of a flawed way to continue spending more than it takes in.

Organizations on the Right and Left have argued that our national debt is both a national security threat and a threat to freedom. EJ Antoni of the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation wrote last year that the interest payments on our national debt are “the federal government’s third-largest single line item in the budget” and have become so large “that it exceeded 60% of all personal income taxes collected in February (of 2024).” If an average American family ran their budget like the federal government, they would reach a point where credit cards, mortgage payments, and other debt payments would exceed income and cause bankruptcy. 

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A crushing national debt affects our nation’s ability to protect itself, project strength, and have a sustainable private economy. The Pete Peterson Foundation argued that the national debt matters because “America faces emerging and ongoing challenges that will require resources to keep our country safe and strong” and “borrowing more and more today reduces the opportunities and prosperity of the next generation.” As the government consumes more resources, the freedom of future generations to create wealth and become entrepreneurs is diminished.

The left-wing Brookings Institution argued that “publicly held debt now equals 70% of gross domestic product, a threshold many economists consider significant and highly worrisome,” with “half of our current deficit financing is being provided by foreigners.” The children of our nation owe a debt to foreign individuals and governments who have financed our debt, which poses a national security risk if they decide to stop financing debt or request that the debt be paid off.

One danger sign that Congress is not taking the threat seriously is that both the House and Senate just passed a budget that hikes the debt limit through borrowing the authority of the Department of Treasury by $4 trillion while passing a budget that increases spending by over $300 billion dollars. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), my former boss, argued that the Senate version of the budget reconciliation measure that expedites consideration of $340 billion in new spending should “take the savings from Elon Musk and DOGE and move it over here to help with the border.” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) was the lone Republican to vote against the House version. He argued that the House-passed plan added $320 to the deficit this year, $295 billion to the deficit next year, and $240 billion after that — why would I vote for that? The congressional budget should have been bold and more aligned with what Americans voted for last fall.

Congress has not received a message from Americans that they want Congress to manage their tax dollars responsibly. The threat to economic freedom is clear because as the federal government consumes more resources, there are fewer opportunities for the private sector to expand and thrive. 

THE UNITED STATES NEEDS MINERAL INDEPENDENCE

The threat to personal freedoms caused by debt is even more stark. The protections of the Bill of Rights are affected by the growing power of the federal government to interfere with freedom of speech, freedom of association, and the freedom to contract. The House Judiciary Committee released a report in May of 2024 that studied a “monthslong campaign by the Biden White House to coerce large companies, namely Facebook, Google, and Amazon, to censor books, videos, posts, and other content online.” This campaign caused these companies to change “their content moderation policies in ways that were directly responsive to criticism from the Biden administration.” This dangerous precedent has been set and can be used by either party that controls the federal government to limit speech. 

Our federal government has funded a massive expansion of powers fueled by borrowed resources, resulting in crushing debt. Profligate spending by the federal government causes inflation and inhibits Americans’ economic freedom to purchase a home or to have a higher standard of living than prior generations. Freedom is at risk unless politicians do a better job of cutting spending without relying on the crutch of trying to take even more tax dollars from struggling American families.