The need to focus on the economy’s significance

The size of the national debt has become a preoccupation across the political spectrum. Democrats have complained about the $3.4 trillion increase in the debt projected to result from President Donald Trump's tax cut. This represents 10 percent of the projected gross domestic product for 2035. Republicans also scream about the debt, even as they pass tax cuts to make it larger at every opportunity.

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Let's be clear: The bulk of the current deficit is the result of reduced tax revenue, not legislated increases in spending. Tax revenue peaked at 20% of GDP in 2000. For those who don't remember, the economy was booming that year, with a 4% unemployment rate and 4.1% GDP growth, according to the Tribune News Service.

The latest projections, following the passage of Trump's tax cuts, show that tax revenue will be just over 16% of GDP next year. The loss of tax revenue, compared with the 2000 peak, will add $1.2 trillion to the 2026 deficit.

While spending has increased relative to the economy, most of the increase was not due to profligate government spending but rather the result of higher Social Security and Medicare spending. This rise is because the huge baby boom cohort was in their prime working years in 2000. Now they are in their 60s and 70s and mostly collecting benefits from these programmes.