National debt growth is ‘unsustainable’

Our federal debt is accumulating at an unsustainable rate. A recent news item informed us that the U.S. federal debt just reached $40 trillion. The hole is getting deeper at a rate of about $5.5 million per minute. Each American, including children, currently owes about $120,500. This year, the interest payments will be more than $1 trillion — close to the entire national defense budget. Where is that money coming from? It is being borrowed. Essentially, our government uses one credit card to pay the interest on the other credit card. This endless cycle of borrowing is, predictably, putting upward pressure on long-term interest rates, keeping mortgage rates stubbornly high. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently tried putting lipstick on the pig by doubling down on the Treasury Department’s bond repurchase program in an attempt to stem the upward trajectory of long-term interest rates. The result was miniscule and temporary. Luckily, investors around the world are still willing to finance (and refinance) our debt load by buying our bonds — so far. When that stops, we will see interest rates spike dramatically. The stock market will tank, ushering in a deep recession. When will this happen? It could be 20-30 years from now, or it could be next Tuesday if the Treasury bond auction does not go well. Of course, politicians on both sides of the aisle are allergic to fiscal restraint. But we all must understand the need to get our fiscal house in order, and demand that it be done. Pat Hillard, Norfolk Check again Re “Vote for Kiggans” (Your Views, Aug. 17): A letter made reference to former U.S. Rep. Elaine Luria’s campaign commercials and, in particular, that she would fight corruption. The letter writer said t

he last time he checked, Democrats were corrupt. He needs to check again because Republicans have been engulfed in corruption with this administration and have not addressed anything to make life better for our citizens. Gloria L. Ross, Virginia Beach Climate legacy As we approach the November midterm elections, I would like to weigh in on a topic near and dear to me. I’m one of those moderates, a center-left kind of guy. There are things that I like and things that I don’t about both political parties, but what sways me the most is the climate legacy that we are leaving to our distant heirs. By using fossil fuels, we have altered the Earth’s climate to the point where it will take centuries for it to recover. This is barring any revolutionary carbon capture technology, terraforming on a global scale and is based on science, not politics. The carbon dioxide concentration in our atmosphere is more than 420 parts per million, above our pre-industrial baseline of 280 ppm. Even if we stop today, an untenable and economically disastrous option, the planet will continue to warm and the oceans will continue to become more acidic (driven by carbonic acid). The outcome of all this is destruction of food sources, drier climates, more extreme weather and human suffering on a large scale. The thing that is most top of mind for me as I walk into the polls this November (figuratively, since I mail my ballot) is that I will vote for the party that supports what I consider to be one of the most important things to our existence on this planet, the climate. It will take a lot of effort and a long time but we need to incentivize the shift from fossil fuels not the opposite. That’s just common sense. Chris Wilson, Virginia Beach

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