The best case scenario, and least likely, is that the U.S. reduces its spending to be less than what it earns every year. This is also known as having an ‘annual surplus’.  In 2021, the U.S. spent seven trillion dollars and only made four trillion. This creates a three trillion dollar deficit. That three trillion dollars is all borrowed through the selling of bonds.

More than one trillion dollars a year goes to all the branches of weaponry development and soldiers, so by cutting the size of their own unnecessarily large military, they could potentially save 800 billion dollars annually. Of course as I mentioned in my previous story, America’s Fall From Grace, big manufacturing companies heavily contribute financially to politicians, which makes change almost impossible. 

 Along with spending cuts, the U.S. would have to raise taxes for billionaires by a large amount. Right now, most billionaire CEOs pay less than five percent of what they make a year. Republicans justify these tax cuts by referencing “trickle down economics”. This is a system that has never worked. 

 The basis of it is that the more money a CEO has, the more money the workers will get paid. This means the workers will spend more, and the economy will grow.  Obviously this doesn’t take into account the natural greed of a CEO. Republicans just hope that the employers are feeling generous in their paychecks.  

The U.S. government is losing almost three trillion dollars a year on tax cuts.  This three trillion dollars could be more effectively used to pay for important national expenses. Just like that, you can take a $3 trillion deficit and turn it into almost zero by reducing spending on the military and raising taxes.

The worse, more probable solution that I see happening is that the country will find an entirely new resource to link their currency to. A big prospect right now is lithium, the material that batteries are made of. If clean energy eventually puts oil out of business, what is to stop the U.S. from going to a big lithium producing country like Chile and recreating the Saudi Arabia deal with them? This would, again, temporarily prevent inflation, but would add on to the already enormous debt. Their stability would allow them to keep borrowing money, but it would trap them in an endless cycle of borrowing until they eliminated their deficit. In summary, here is how it goes.

1.   They borrow money from China to fill their deficit which leads to debt.
2.   Their deal with Saudi Arabia keeps the currency valuable
3.   Their currency is valuable enough to pay back China every month with the money they do make through taxes, exports, etc.
4.   After they pay back China with tax money, they won’t have enough money to spend on their programs.  Repeat from 1.

In conclusion, the United States of America is dealing with a self-induced cancer that will eventually lead to catastrophe. Something needs to be changed very soon with how congress handles funds, and it starts with every congressman acknowledging the problem. This needs to become a bipartisan issue, or a problem that democrats and republicans can work together on. Many in congress are afraid to cut spending because it would stop short term success, but short term pain is the only way to achieve long term prosperity. I sincerely hope that by reading this, you better understand the importance of a realistic national budget, and the urgency of this situation. We are the future of this country, and we have the power to change it through voting.