"I'm concerned about a Trump-Biden rematch," argues Riedl. "You have two presidents with two of the worst fiscal records of the past 100 years."
reason.com/video
0:00- Why is the national debt bad?
6:26- Is it sustainable to keep printing money?
8:39- We have a social security and medicare problem
17:00- Are presidents to blame for high spending?
17:30- What is the Congressional budget process?
22:40- What role does public opinion play?
27:58- Looking at the 2024 election
32:00- The last time the U.S. had a balanced budget
40:00- Should we tax the rich more?
47:00- How to meaningfully cut social security
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You probably already know that the national debt is bigger than our whole economy. But relax, because things can always get worse! And they will, regardless of whether Biden or Trump gets elected in the fall. Each has a proven track record of spending like a drunken sailor and most projections show that debt will grow to between 181 percent and 340 percent of GDP over the next few decades. Reason's Nick Gillespie discussed all of this and more with Brian Riedl, a budget expert at the Manhattan Institute. Riedl explains why massive and growing debt is really bad, why reducing it is really hard but really important, and why young people should be really pissed.
Photo Credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Newscom