WASHINGTON (Gray DC) – Politicians promise a lot – especially this election cycle. But all this comes at a cost that the nation will have to pay at some point.

The Treasury Department estimates that the United States is almost $36 trillion in debt. That means each taxpayer owes about $106,000 to pay it off, according to the Peterson Foundation — a group dedicated to tracking the nation’s fiscal challenges. In 2023, the federal government spent $6.13 trillion and collected $4.44 trillion in revenue, according to the Treasury.

“What politicians make a lot of hay about, both sides of the aisle promise free stuff,” said Richard Stern of the Heritage Foundation. “The only way to promise free things is through deficits.”

Economists say these are examples of why the country is in the red.

Unfortunately for all of us, taxes and spending cuts are the only way out of this chasm, experts say. But the impact of this measure differs depending on the candidates.

The Committee for a Responsible Budget estimates that former President Donald Trump’s policies could inflate the deficit by $7.5 trillion. Josh Gotbaum of the left-leaning Brookings Institute says Trump’s plan to freeze spending and cut taxes for everyone is a good thing for now, but will have a higher cost in the long run.

“He says we’re going to cut taxes, but he hasn’t talked about it, so it will probably mean more borrowing,” Gotbaum said.

“Trump hasn’t talked about a lot of new spending, which I think is a good thing,” Stern said. “He didn’t talk about making the deficit worse by increasing the size of government. He’s not talking about cutting spending.

The Committee for a Responsible Budget projects that Harris’ plan will increase the deficit by $3.5 trillion, about half that of Trump’s. His plan increases spending on welfare benefits for middle- and low-income people while raising taxes on billionaires and closing corporate tax loopholes.

“Increasing corporate taxes, creating wealth taxes, unrealized capital gains taxes – all of these things are strategically targeted to crush economic engines,” Stern said .

Economists estimate that Harris’ plan to raise the corporate tax rate to 7 percent would increase revenue by about $900 billion over the next 10 years.

Either plan would have to go to Congress for approval… but both candidates hope their plan will get people to the polls to vote for them.

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