Donald Trump Built a National Debt So Big (Even Before the Pandemic) That It’ll Weigh Down the Economy for Years
Allan Sloan (ProPublica)
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Cezary Podkul (for ProPublica)
15 January 2021
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The “King of Debt” promised to reduce the national debt then his tax cuts made it surge. Add in the pandemic, and he oversaw the third-biggest deficit increase of any president.
One of President Donald Trump’s lesser known but profoundly damaging legacies will be the explosive rise in the national debt that occurred on his watch. The financial burden that he’s inflicted on our government will wreak havoc for decades, saddling our kids and grandkids with debt.
It rose almost $7.8 trillion during his time in the White House approaching World War II levels, relative to the size of the economy. This time around, it will be much harder to dig ourselves out.
His message: If the next round of stimulus checks goes out, they should be targeted to those who need it.
Other Democrats may still be deciding whether the checks should be a priority, Brian Gardner, chief Washington policy strategist at Stifel, wrote in an analyst note.
While some Democrats want those checks put through fast, that could hinder negotiations with Republicans for more coronavirus stimulus aid, Gardner wrote.
Some Republican lawmakers have echoed Manchin s views that the checks could be better aimed at individuals and families who need it most.
When the House of Representatives passed a bill authorizing the $2,000 payments, Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, said he was concerned the extra money would go to pay down credit card debt, or savings, or even make new purchases online at Walmart, Best Buy or Amazon.
An e-cigarette vape plume is photographed in Denver in this Aug. 3, 2020 photo illustration.
Big Tobacco did something unusual in Marlboro Country last fall: It stood aside while Colorado voters approved the state’s first tobacco tax hike in 16 years.
The industry, led by Altria Group, one of the world’s largest tobacco companies, has spent exorbitantly in the past to kill similar state ballot initiatives. In 2018, Altria’s lobbying arm spent more than $17 million to help defeat Montana’s tobacco tax ballot initiative. That same year, it spent around $6 million to help defeat South Dakota’s similar measure.
And four years ago, Altria was the leading funder in a successful $16 million campaign to quash Colorado’s previous proposed tobacco tax increase.