<p class="p1"><span class="s1">GOP lawmakers are starting to voice concerns about the national debt as Democrats talk about a fourth stimulus package.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Congress has already spent more than $2 trillion on three coronavirus-relief packages designed to keep Americans afloat during the pandemic. Such massive spending is expected to increase the national debt, which is currently at $23 trillion. </span><span class="s1">When combined with lost tax revenue from lockdowns across the country, the increase in debt over the next year could easily exceed $4 trillion.</span></p>
<p>Analysts already expect the national debt t<span class="s1">o eclipse the size of the entire US economy this year for the first time since WWII. The same thing is expected to occur in the UK.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">“Let’s weigh this very carefully because the future of our country in terms of the amount of debt we’re adding up is a matter of genuine concern,” says Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">McConnell’s concerns were echoed by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), who tested positive for COVID-19 last month and recently returned to Washington after a quarantine. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">“My advice to the Senate and to the American people is let’s be aware of what we’re doing by creating all this new debt, and let’s think before we jump into a terrible, terrible conclusion,” said Paul. </span><span class="s1">“No amount of money, not all the money in China, will save us from ourselves&#8230;The only hope of rescuing this great country is to reopen the economy.”</span></p>
<p>Congress is going to have to make some incredibly tough choices after the pandemic blows over. <span class="s1">Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, has proposed raising the retirement age and increasing gas taxes to mitigate the financial impact of COVID-19. Others favor social bonds and carbon taxes. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>Author’s Note:</b></span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">For years, experts have been saying the US economy will collapse when the national debt reaches $35 trillion. This was projected to occur no earlier than 2030, but with COVID-19 spending, it could occur even sooner.</span></p>
<p>Unfortunately, Republicans<span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif;"> and Democrats will continue to blame the deficit on each other, with neither party stepping up to find a solution. The </span><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif;">deficit will continue unchecked until we reach a breaking point. </span></p>
<p><strong>Editor&#8217;s Note:</strong></p>
<p>I am suspecting President Trump to step up in his second term to work on the debt. No one has ever won a second term by focusing on the national debt. It is just a bad campaign issue.</p>