Two weeks before midterm elections on November 3, 2026, leaders and candidates are trying to counter voter ire about high gas and grocery prices, interest rates, and bond yields. The latter affect not only more affluent investors, but also average workers with bonds in their retirement funds.
We have heard about lifting Russian oil sanctions to increase oil supply. We have heard about temporarily suspending gas taxes. And we have heard about how candidates have plans to lower the prices of consumer goods (nothing specific).
We have also heard about culprits: supply chains interrupted by wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
But what we have not heard that much about is the elephant in the room: The US $40.3 trillion national debt, which is 123.85% of the US Gross National Product.
No amount of Keynesian doublespeak can paper over these numbers. The US government spends more in services, defense, and paying interest on the national debt than it takes in via taxes generated by worker productivity.
Anther way of saying this is that the US economy is not producing enough stuff that folks need to buy. So, what stuff there is keeps costing more.
Meanwhile, we focus on the blips, like high gas prices exacerbated by conflicts. Or we welcome Band-Aids on gun shot wounds, like stimulus checks, or $5,000 to everybody who votes a certain way. We focus on peripherals and ignore the painful core.
“People may want lower deficits, but they also want low taxes. They want a strong military, but they do not necessarily want to pay more to finance it. They want reliable infrastructure, good schools, and continued investment in scientific research. They want accessible healthcare. They want Social Security and Medicare to provide security in retirement. They may support lower government spending generally while opposing cuts to the programs that matter to them.” Harvard Kennedy School, Everyone Says the Debt Is a Problem. So Why Is It Not a Priority? September 24, 2026
We might even embrace the world offered by the AI elite, which seems to be saying, “Stop struggling, and let us and our superconscious agents bring about a world of superabundance and happy infinite scrolling.”
Either that, or we need to bite the bullet and, at the ballot box, deal with our economy’s original sin – our addiction to a big, profligate government.