Let's cordially debate a controversial and often misunderstood macroeconomic topic. Our huge U.S. government debt (see the latest debt being counted at U.S. Debt Clock(Links to an external site.) https://www.usdebtclock.org/

continues to grow and is constantly in the news.

For your initial post address the following:

• Is the large and increasing national debt an issue we should be concerned about?
• How does John Tamny view the national debt? What is your conclusion? Is this a problem, why or why not? Be sure to support your conclusion with facts.

(John Tamny's response:

John what is more of an economic concern-- the national debt, which is often discussed, or actual government spending?

That's a great question. What would you prefer? A $4 trillion balanced budget with no deficit, or a $2 trillion annual federal expenditure where $1 trillion of it is borrowed?

The obvious answer is that you take the deficit scenario, because you're talking about $2 trillion less being consumed by the federal government. It can't be stressed enough that governments don't take in our dollars to stare lovingly at them.

Every dollar they take in amounts to more control over the economy, because it gives them spending power to purchase up trucks, tractors, computers, desk chairs, most crucial of all-- labor. And so when you're looking at debts and deficits, versus balanced budgets, what the most important is that you limit the amount of federal spending overall.

It's not a Republican or a Democrat thing. What it is, it's about limiting the government's control over the economy and pushing as much of those resources as possible into the private sector.

And it gets back to the basic truth that, in the private sector, failure is the norm. Experimentation on the way to failure is the norm. In government, experiments go on for years and years and decades, wasting precious resources. So you leave that money in the private sector so that it can fund constant new ideas.

And so what we have to ask ourselves is, with a $4 trillion annual budget, how many great, amazing companies, how many Microsoft's, how many Intel's, how many Nike's, never were funded precisely because government was consuming so much of our precious capital?

Spending is always and everywhere the problem. Don't worry about whether it's borrowed or taxed. The problem is the spending.