Smucker, Lloyed. “When the Balloon Pops: Inflating Our Debt and Undermining Our Security.” The Washington Times, The Washington Times, 17 May 2022, https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/may/17/when-the-balloon-pops-inflating-our-debt-and-under/.
Direct Quote: Mr. Mullen warned us that our debt would soon reach a point where we spent more paying off interest than funding our military, risking our national security. Under the president’s budget, that warning will be proved true in 2029. Given that China owns an increasing amount of our debt, those interest payments will directly fund the interests of an economic, and perhaps military, adversary.
Summary/My Interpretation: As the debt continues to rise, interest rates on these payments will rise alongside it. This is problematic as it requires an increasing amount of funds every year, leading to the government redirecting funds from other areas to fuel it. Experts believe that a part of the military budget could go to fund this as it receives the most funding in the status quo. Overall, this would not only take away from the military but also redirect funds to foreign powers.
How I Plan to Use This In My Project: As a whole, this article does a good job at explaining how national debt can threaten security. Although this could have a possible impact on middle class families, I plan to use this article as a way to explain why selling treasuries to other nations can be harmful. One of the most common arguments against solving the debt is stating that other nations always want to buy treasuries. While this is true, it is important not to oversell these bonds as it could harm security in the future.
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