While I normally write about commercial real estate, I want to draw attention this month to another topic — the climbing national debt.

Rising debt should ring an alarm for everyone, but politicians from both parties and most people don’t seem concerned. Perhaps it’s just me. 

The United States national debt tops $28 trillion and increases by the second. Visit the website located at www.usdebtclock.org to see for yourself.

To help get a better feel for the numbers on a personal level, the U.S. federal debt per citizen approaches $85,000, and the debt per taxpayer is estimated at nearly $224,000. 

U.S. federal debt as a proportion of gross domestic product, the broad measure of goods and services produced in the country, has increased from around 35 percent in 1980 to 60 percent in 2000 and is expected to soon surpass 140 percent. According to the World Bank, debt that exceeds 77 percent of GDP cuts into economic growth.

Keep in mind these numbers were reported before President Joe Biden signed into law the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan legislation. The debt numbers will soon take another big jump.

There are ways to reduce debt. The two primary ways are to raise tax rates (which no taxpayer wants) or cut government spending (which no politician wants). Alternatively, the economy could suddenly take off and operate at warp speed for a long period of time (easier said than done) so the government could collect more in taxes dollars without raising the tax rate while at the same time capping spending, effectively reducing the debt-to-GDP ratio.

I’m skeptical that’s going to happen any time soon and expect U.S. debt to rise for the foreseeable future.

While I can’t imagine any parent or grandparent wants to leave their children and grandchildren with a massive debt load, that’s the path we’re on. Hopefully, everyone will see the light soon and let their government representatives know this overspending has to stop.