f{"id":49833,"date":"2026-08-21T13:17:50","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T20:17:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=49833"},"modified":"2026-08-21T13:17:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T20:17:50","slug":"economists-blame-40-trillion-debt-milestone-on-two-things-gop-ineptitude-and-tax-cuts-for-the-rich","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/08\/21\/economists-blame-40-trillion-debt-milestone-on-two-things-gop-ineptitude-and-tax-cuts-for-the-rich\/","title":{"rendered":"Economists Blame $40 Trillion Debt Milestone on Two Things: GOP Ineptitude and Tax Cuts for the Rich"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/media-library\/president-trump-signs-his-big-beautiful-bill-into-law-and-celebrates-independence-day-at-the-white-house.jpg?id=62264707&amp;width=1200&amp;height=400&amp;quality=70&amp;coordinates=0%2C499%2C0%2C168\" alt=\"President Trump Signs His &quot;Big, Beautiful Bill&quot; Into Law And Celebrates Independence Day At The White House\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">US President Donald Trump, joined by Republican lawmakers, signs the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law on July 4, 2025 in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00a0(Photo by Eric Lee\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cThere is one point that should be very clear: It has been run up almost entirely due to Republican tax cuts and their inept management of the economy.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/jake-johnson\">Jake Johnson<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Aug 20, 2026 (CommonDreams.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Congressional&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/republicans\">Republicans<\/a>&nbsp;have seized upon news that the US national debt reached $40 trillion to bash what they described as \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ChuckGrassley\/status\/2090435322500796752\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">unaffordable socialist policies<\/a>\u201d and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SenRickScott\/status\/2090203852247073146\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">out-of-control spending<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But economists and policy analysts say Republican policy decisions\u2014from massive&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/tax-cuts\">tax cuts<\/a>&nbsp;for the rich to disastrous wars of choice in the Middle East\u2014are primarily responsible for the explosion of the national debt over the past quarter-century. President&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/donald-trump\">Donald Trump<\/a>, who has repeatedly promised to eliminate the national debt, has so far overseen an&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us-debt-crosses-40-trillion-threshold-after-doubling-under-trump-biden-2026-08-19\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$11.6 trillion debt surge<\/a>&nbsp;across his two&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/white-house\">White House<\/a>&nbsp;terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">RECOMMENDED&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/inflation-rate-2026\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/media-library\/shoppers-wait-in-line-at-a-grocery-store-in-washington-dc-on-january-23-2026.jpg?id=65852289&amp;width=1200&amp;height=1200&amp;quality=70&amp;coordinates=833%2C0%2C833%2C0\" alt=\"Shoppers wait in line at a grocery store in Washington, DC on January 23, 2026. \u200b\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/inflation-rate-2026\">New Inflation Numbers Prove \u2018Catastrophic Mismanagement of Our Economy\u2019 by Trump<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/talarico-paxton-pen-theft-ad\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/media-library\/democratic-senate-candidate-james-talarico-holds-rally-day-after-gop-primary.jpg?id=66863534&amp;width=1200&amp;height=1200&amp;quality=70&amp;coordinates=837%2C0%2C837%2C0\" alt=\"Democratic Senate Candidate James Talarico Holds Rally Day After GOP Primary\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/talarico-paxton-pen-theft-ad\">Possibly \u2018Best Political Ad Yet This Season\u2019 Shows Texas Republican Ken Paxton\u2019s 2012 Pen Theft<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI have never been a deficit hawk, and I\u2019m not about to change my religious affiliation now,\u201d&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/dean-baker\">Dean Baker<\/a>, senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/cepr.net\/publications\/40-trillion-debt-oh-my\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a>&nbsp;Thursday. \u201cBut whatever we think of debt and deficits, there is one point that should be very clear: It has been run up almost entirely due to Republican tax cuts and their inept management of the economy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Economist Paul Krugman similarly&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/paulkrugman.substack.com\/p\/the-case-against-bond-market-panic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a>&nbsp;that while the $40 trillion figure \u201chas no special significance,\u201d it underscores \u201cthe incredible irresponsibility of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/trump-administration\">Trump administration<\/a>, with its unfunded tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy, billions in wasteful military spending\u2014redesigning aircraft carriers because Trump doesn\u2019t like the way they look!\u2014and more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.americanprogress.org\/article\/why-the-national-debt-matters-more-than-it-used-to-and-why-we-should-not-count-on-ai-to-fix-the-problem\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jared Bernstein and Bobby Kogan<\/a>&nbsp;have shown, our deficit would be far more manageable if first [George W.] Bush, then Trump, hadn\u2019t rammed through tax cuts that hugely favored high-income Americans,\u201d Krugman added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kogan, senior director of federal&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/budget\">budget<\/a>&nbsp;policy at the Center for American Progress,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.americanprogress.org\/article\/tax-cuts-are-primarily-responsible-for-the-increasing-debt-ratio\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">estimated<\/a>&nbsp;in 2023 that tax cuts enacted during the Bush administration and Trump\u2019s first term were \u201cresponsible for 57% of the increase in the debt ratio since 2001, and more than 90% of the increase in the debt ratio if the one-time costs of bills responding to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/covid-19\">Covid-19<\/a>&nbsp;and the Great Recession are excluded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">BlueSky:  <a href=\"https:\/\/embed.bsky.app\/embed\/did:plc:drfb2pdjlnsqkfgsoellcahm\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mthnjhbb3k2h?id=3861853595039886&amp;ref_url=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.commondreams.org%252Fnews%252Feconomists-trump-40-trillion-debt&amp;colorMode=system\">https:\/\/embed.bsky.app\/embed\/did:plc:drfb2pdjlnsqkfgsoellcahm\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mthnjhbb3k2h?id=3861853595039886&amp;ref_url=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.commondreams.org%252Fnews%252Feconomists-trump-40-trillion-debt&amp;colorMode=system<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last summer, Trump signed into law another massive tax cut package that will&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/itep.org\/2025-trump-tax-obbba-one-year-anniverary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">disproportionately benefit<\/a>&nbsp;the rich and large corporations\u2014and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.budget.senate.gov\/ranking-member\/newsroom\/press\/cbo-reports-the-final-one-big-beautiful-bill-tally-will-add-34-trillion-to-deficits-over-10-years\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">add trillions of dollars more to the national debt<\/a>&nbsp;over the next decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFrom now on, whenever you hear someone fret about how huge, horrible, and out-of-control the national debt is, explain to them that it\u2019s largely because of tax cuts to the wealthy\u2014who are&nbsp;<em>also&nbsp;<\/em>the major&nbsp;<em>recipients<\/em>&nbsp;of interest on that debt,\u201d former US Labor Secretary&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/robert-reich\">Robert Reich<\/a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/robertreich.substack.com\/p\/who-gets-paid-as-our-national-debt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a>&nbsp;on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The US national debt reached $40 trillion months earlier than&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/business\/2026\/08\/18\/us-debt-set-hit-40-trillion-months-earlier-than-expected\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">forecasters expected<\/a>, partially due to lost federal revenue from Trump\u2019s court-invalidated&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/tariffs\">tariffs<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBefore his second term is even over,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/donald-trump\">Donald Trump<\/a>\u00a0is responsible for more than $10 trillion of this,\u201d Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.)\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RepDeluzio\/status\/2090473278385119693\" target=\"_blank\">wrote<\/a>\u00a0on Thursday. \u201cJust INTEREST on this debt is now sucking up more of our public money than even the military and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/medicare\">Medicare<\/a>. DC Republicans are leaving our kids a colossal mess to clean up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/jake-johnson\">Jake Johnson<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jake Johnson is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/jake-johnson\">Full Bio &gt;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US President Donald Trump, joined by Republican lawmakers, signs the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law on July 4, 2025 in Washington, DC. \u00a0(Photo by Eric Lee\/Getty Images) \u201cThere is one point that should be very clear: It has been run up almost entirely due to Republican tax cuts&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/08\/21\/economists-blame-40-trillion-debt-milestone-on-two-things-gop-ineptitude-and-tax-cuts-for-the-rich\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1879],"tags":[26],"class_list":["post-49833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-politics","tag-national-debt"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Economists Blame $40 Trillion Debt Milestone on Two Things: GOP Ineptitude and Tax Cuts for the Rich -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/08\/21\/economists-blame-40-trillion-debt-milestone-on-two-things-gop-ineptitude-and-tax-cuts-for-the-rich\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Economists Blame $40 Trillion Debt Milestone on Two Things: GOP Ineptitude and Tax Cuts for the Rich -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"US President Donald Trump, joined by Republican lawmakers, signs the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law on July 4, 2025 in Washington, DC. \u00a0(Photo by Eric Lee\/Getty Images) \u201cThere is one point that should be very clear: It has been run up almost entirely due to Republican tax cuts... 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