“Our state was left in spectacular financial shape upon my departure from the Governor’s office; this surplus proves it." — Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va.
•â¶Ä¢â¶Ä¢
I applaud Jim Justice's fiscally conservative efforts as governor, but he seems to have forgotten all about that as a U.S. senator.Â
Justice stated, “Passing President Trump’s agenda out of the Senate provides lasting tax relief, establishes commonsense reform to our social programs while protecting those who are most vulnerable.â€
But the facts are very different. The most vulnerable West Virginians will lose food stamps (SNAP) and Medicaid, while billionaires like Justice get tax cuts and the deficit grows out-of-bounds.
Both parties are responsible for the creation of this impending catastrophe. My firm opinion is that, purposefully, neither party has boiled down the data in an understandable form because they both do not want to admit the worsening mess that we are in, per Justice’s quote.
The theoretical construct is simple. To have a balanced budget, you must raise enough revenue to offset your expenses. Every taxpayer is faced with this issue in their personal finances. Your family can make more money or spend less. But our national politicians, red and blue, completely ignore this basic financial tenant.
The facts speak for themselves. The last administration to have a budget surplus was Bill Clinton. Since then, things have gotten worse and worse, no matter which party is in office. As of May 2025, the national debt was $36.2 trillion- or $106,000 per U.S. resident. Here is how that happened
The annual deficits (in billions) under Obama were as follows:
- First term: 2009, $1,413; 2010, $1,294; 2011, $1,300; 2012, $1,077
- Second term: 2013, $680; 2014, $485; 2015, $442; 2016, $585.
Under Trump’s first term, the annual deficit went up significantly versus Obama’s second (in billions):
- 2017, $665; 2018, $779; 2019, $984; 2020, $3,132. It reached the highest annual amount in history, by far, in 2020, partly fueled by mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Biden was also problematic, with even larger deficit increases versus the first three years of Trump’s term:
- 2021, $1,484; 2022, $1,402; 2023, $2,238; 2024, $1,833.
We as a nation have overspent. There is an understandable breakdown of expenditures, dividing them into three major categories: mandatory, discretionary and interest. To sum it up, very popular programs make up three fourths of mandatory spending (Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid). Our military is about half of discretionary spending. The U.S. national debt is constantly growing larger, so interest payments are more than $2.6 billion every day. To reduce expenditures, the USA would have to make some very hard choices which would have major economic and social consequences.
But it isn’t just spending causing the debt increase. Our government decreased federal revenues dramatically via the 2017 “temporary†tax cut. That tax cut is now permanent via the recently passed “Big Beautiful Bill.†According to projections, the deficit (in billions) will be $1,865 in 2025 and $1,713 in 2026.
Our national debt is currently equal to 100% of our gross product. Unless there are policy changes, the deficit will continue to grow. By 2035, it will be 118%.
If we truly care about our children and grandchildren, America’s voters will demand that politicians of both parties construct a budget which will create an annual surplus to pay off our national debt. Increasing our national debt under both red and blue administrations is just not a viable long-term option.
