A few weeks ago Donald Trump shocked knowledgeable Americans when he stated the United State’s 19 trillion dollar debt could be paid off in roughly a decade. The math is actually very simple.
Presently the United States raises between 3 and 4 trillion dollars in revenue each year, and nevertheless it adds to the national debt annually. Essentially the US is like a teacher who earned $43,000 in 2015, and spent $48,100 during the same period of time. Yet Mr. Trump essentially suggested this teacher would be able to pay off a debt of more than $172,000 over the next 10 years. How utterly ridiculous!
There are only three possible reasons why candidate Trump made this statement – and all of them are extremely unsettling. Perhaps Mr. Trump has an uncontrollable habit of making things up, maybe he was pandering to ignorant voters, or mayhap he was uninformed about the actual numbers involved. Each of the aforementioned rationales should easily dissuade any potential voter from casting a ballot for Mr. Trump. But wait there is more: last week Donald Trump changed his mind, and he now denies ever saying he would pay off the debt so quickly.
Trump voters, like true partisans, will inevitably highlight the fact that candidate Trump answered the debt question correctly the second time around. Yet Mr. Trump’s first answer, the rationale behind it, and his subsequent attempt to deny reality will hopefully make the difference in the minds of dispassionate American voters.
libertysquill 