Tuesday, the Treasury Department released data that revealed the national debt surpassed $31 trillion for the first time in American history.
In 2020, the federal government spent $3.1 trillion more than it received, and in 2021 it spent $2.8 trillion more than it received. The budget deficit is expected to be close to $1 trillion this year.
Thursday on WVNN’s “The Yaffee Program,” U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) blamed both parties for the high numbers – singling out retiring U.S. senator and fellow Republican Richard Shelby.
“I love the United States of American and our economy is the engine that provides us with so many things that we are blessed with,” Brooks said, “good health care, good education, the ability to put a roof over the heads of our families, put dinner on the table. And the economy is tied to this horrendous national debt that the United States Congress and the White House keeps racking up, and ultimately it can result in the demise of a nation that took over two centuries to build.”
The lawmaker wasn’t shy about who in the Alabama congressional delegation he believes is serious or not serious about reducing deficit and the debt.
“In the Alabama delegation you’ve got three to count on,” said Brooks, who lost the GOP runoff for Senate to Katie Britt, a former Shelby aide. “Myself, Barry Moore out of the Wiregrass, and Gary Palmer out of the Jefferson County-Shelby County area, and that’s it. And the person who is more responsible for our deficit and debt than anyone else in the United States is probably Richard Shelby from the state of Alabama. And I would challenge anybody to come up with another name who’s been more responsible for this out of control spending than our own United States senator from Alabama Richard Shelby.”
Brooks said he’s not buying the current position of the Biden administration that they have worked to reduce the deficit.
“He compares himself to Donald Trump,” he said. “Donald Trump during Donald Trump’s last year in office, during fiscal year 2020, had the worst deficit of American history with a little over $3 trillion. Now, in fairness to Donald Trump, that was triggered in part to COVID and Washington’s response to COVID, but still $3 trillion is an abysmal track record for that one year.”
Brooks also called out many of his fellow Republicans in Congress for not being willing to “walk the walk” when it comes to cutting spending.
“[I]f you look at our Republicans,” he said, “there are maybe 10, 20, 30, 40 Republicans that are seriously concerned about the national deficit and debt and are willing to take the heat to do something about it. That’s not much out of 210 congressmen and 50 senators, to only have a few dozen that are actually willing to not just talk the talk but walk the walk, no matter how much it gets voters upset with you, for trying to be financially responsible.”
Brooks worries that all of this extra government spending will just make inflation an even bigger problem in the future.
“This deficit and debt is a huge factor amongst those myriad of factors that are out there,” he said. “And you put all these things and it doesn’t bode well for the average Joe and Jane citizen who is struggling to make ends meet … If you haven’t gotten an 8% pay raise in the last year, you have had a cut in your standard of living and a cut in the purchasing power of your paycheck.”
USA debt hits $31 TRILLION: $95,000/EACH American man, woman & child. Result: INFLATION, national insolvency &/or bankruptcy.
Cause? Americans get what they vote for. Maybe 10% of Congress (3 of 9 in Alabama) financially responsible. Rest are not. BAD! https://t.co/UKsFZui40h
— Mo Brooks (@RepMoBrooks) October 5, 2022
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee
