With the economy slowed by the coronavirus pandemic and government spending boosted to record highs to fight the virus and its economic fallout, America’s national debt is projected to exceed its annual output for the first time in modern history this year.
Even with an improving economy next year, the Congressional Budget Office projects red ink will continue to flow from Washington D.C. for at least the next decade unless changes are made in the federal budget.
A new group of 14 millennial business owners and investors is trying to push for such changes to help reverse America’s rising debt burden.
The newly created Millennial Debt Commission, which was organized by Chattanooga businessman Weston Wamp, met Tuesday for the first time. During an online gathering with the business leaders from across the country, the commission heard from nearly a dozen economists and current and former members of Congress about the challenges ahead due to a U.S. debt expected to soon top $30 trillion.
“What we know in Washington is that both sides of the aisle like to spend money,” said Bob Corker, a Chattanooga Republican who was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006 on a platform of wanting to balance the federal budget. “They just spend it in different things.”