Conservative Fiscal Hawks Have Flown the Coop
The Republican party is strangely silent on US debt and Social Security when the nation deserves some answers.
What aren’t they telling us?
Photographer: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
The clearest way to glean the true intentions of a political party is sometimes by examining what it doesn't prioritize. So, what stands out from the Republican party's platform released ahead of the last week's convention in Milwaukee was the absence of any reference about what to do about the surging US federal debt, which now totals $34.8 trillion.
It's a stunning omission. If you believe the conservative fiscal hawks, these last four years under the Biden administration have been nothing less than an existential crisis. Twice the Republicans brought the federal government to the brink of a catastrophic default — in 2021 and again in 2023 - by threatening to not go along with Democrats and increase the country's borrowing capacity, or "debt ceiling." After the latter episode, Fitch Ratings stripped the US of its top AAA credit rating, lowering the grade to AA+.