Take a look at https://www.usdebtclock.org/#

Our National Debt is $36.7 Trillion Dollars. That is $323k per tax payer and us 122.66% debt to GDP at this point.

My question is with all these cuts that Trump is making with DOGE and USAID etc, what impact can we expect to see on this number by the time Trump's term ends in about 4 years.

Will it ever get to $40T? Or will it peak around this and start to trend downwards.
What is the right/manageable amount of debt to have?

0 impact. It will keep going up

I don't think the DOGE cuts will have any discernible effect on anything. It's almost entirely for optics and transparency.

It could hit $40T before he leaves office.

javajaws said:

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0 impact. It will keep going up

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Jeeper79 said:

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It could hit $40T before he leaves office.

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It's Congress that created this mess. SS and Medicare have to be cut.

Fat Bottom Squirrels said:

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I don't think the DOGE cuts will have any discernible effect on anything. It's almost entirely for optics and transparency.

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It may not affect the annual budgets much, but it should have dramatic effect on how these agencies conduct business and the scope of that business. That should not be discounted.

Jack Boyette said:

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Jeeper79 said:

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It could hit $40T before he leaves office.

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It's Congress that created this mess. SS and Medicare have to be cut.

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Its everyone that's created this mess.

Jeeper79 said:

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Jack Boyette said:

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Jeeper79 said:

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It could hit $40T before he leaves office.

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It's Congress that created this mess. SS and Medicare have to be cut.

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Its everyone that's created this mess.

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No not everyone. I didn't. We don't all share the blame. Don't make excuses for the greedy thieves that set this up.

You can never have enough guns and ammo to pass along to your children. Raise them to be Christians, but strong and independent...and train them...lots of time at the range and going through hypothetical scenarios.

There is no fixing this. It is not a matter of if, but when. Very likely in our childrens' lifetime, the S will HTF.

The debt will continue to rise. The only question is whether inflation outpaces it.

Jeeper79 said:

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Jack Boyette said:

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Jeeper79 said:

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It could hit $40T before he leaves office.

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It's Congress that created this mess. SS and Medicare have to be cut.

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Its everyone that's created this mess.

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A democrat saying this on a website dominated by small govt conservatives who have HATED all of this spending for years/decades. "Everyone"...LOL.

It will easily hit $40 tril before Trump leaves office. That's only an $800 billion yearly deficit on average to get there. We are at $2 trillion per year now on deficits!

The R congress has no intention of cutting spending. In fact, Trump is increasing spending on the defense budget.

No, you're absolutely right. I just meant that it was going to have no discernible effect on our national debt. It will absolutely have a discernible effect in other areas.

American Hardwood said:

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Jeeper79 said:

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Jack Boyette said:

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Jeeper79 said:

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It could hit $40T before he leaves office.

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It's Congress that created this mess. SS and Medicare have to be cut.

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Its everyone that's created this mess.

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No not everyone. I didn't. We don't all share the blame. Don't make excuses for the greedy thieves that set this up.

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"Everyone" meaning the whole government- legislative and executive (and for all we know judicial).

But Rs and Ds have won elections in relatively equal proportions, and both are guilty. I'm sure you didn't authorize this debt but you sure voted in people that did.

infinity ag said:

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Take a look at https://www.usdebtclock.org/#

Our National Debt is $36.7 Trillion Dollars. That is $323k per tax payer and us 122.66% debt to GDP at this point.

My question is with all these cuts that Trump is making with DOGE and USAID etc, what impact can we expect to see on this number by the time Trump's term ends in about 4 years.

Will it ever get to $40T? Or will it peak around this and start to trend downwards.
What is the right/manageable amount of debt to have?

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It will take Congress for significant cuts to occur. The cuts Trump is making will help but there is only so much if Congress is allocating the spending.

I accept that both parties contributed to this mess.

But my vote went to the best candidate that I could vote for to do the exact opposite of what has occurred. It's not my fault that these candidates fail either by lack of power to change things themselves or because they were liars with no intent to change anything. There isn't anything else I can do except revolt and that would accomplish even less than continuing to hope the next guy I vote for can do something positive.

So, I do not accept your premise that I still bear blame for the egregious deficits our leaders have created over the decades. I wasn't even alive when most of this began, and I didn't vote for anyone that campaigned for greater deficit spending.

As long as Interest Rates are above 0%, cuts need to be made. Not to reduce the debt, but to maintain it.

When the CC company raises your CC interest from 4% to 20%+, you've gotta cut to maintain the interest. Any additional cuts will help to pay down what you owe.

Trump is not a Conservative. He will spend the money, he just doesn't like how it is being spent now. Cut USAID and DoE and other money sinks that contribute to Democrat candidates. Allocate that money to bringing Big Chip, Big PHarma, BigManufacturing back to the US. That investment will pay off long-term, but it won't reduce the debt.

We'll hit $40T by the end of FY26 (Sept '26). HTH.

SS has its own debt issues.

Jeeper79 said:

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It could hit $40T before he leaves office.

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It's going up by nearly 1 trillion every 100 days so yes it will hit 40T before he leaves office. At this rate it will hit 40T in less than a year.

American Hardwood said:

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I accept that both parties contributed to this mess.

But my vote went to the best candidate that I could vote for to do the exact opposite of what has occurred. It's not my fault that these candidates fail either by lack of power to change things themselves or because they were liars with no intent to change anything. There isn't anything else I can do except revolt and that would accomplish even less than continuing to hope the next guy I vote for can do something positive.

So, I do not accept your premise that I still bear blame for the egregious deficits our leaders have created over the decades. I wasn't even alive when most of this began, and I didn't vote for anyone that campaigned for greater deficit spending.

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I generally agree with you. But if we don't demand more from our elected officials, this doesn't change. It's too late once they're in office. We need better nominees or to demand more from the nominees we've got.

I'm not expressly blaming you (or me), but saying you didn't have a hand in it is a very short step away from saying it's out of your hands or that you can't do anything about it.

Keep in mind MOST of the US Public Debt is held by the Federal Reserve.

Thank you Woodrow Wilson.

American Hardwood said:

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I accept that both parties contributed to this mess.

But my vote went to the best candidate that I could vote for to do the exact opposite of what has occurred. It's not my fault that these candidates fail either by lack of power to change things themselves or because they were liars with no intent to change anything. There isn't anything else I can do except revolt and that would accomplish even less than continuing to hope the next guy I vote for can do something positive.

So, I do not accept your premise that I still bear blame for the egregious deficits our leaders have created over the decades. I wasn't even alive when most of this began, and I didn't vote for anyone that campaigned for greater deficit spending.

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The problem didn't begin with deficit spending.

It began when Congress (at the behest of the American people who clamored for more stuff from government) took the excess funds that social security was generating beyond what was needed to pay out and simply diverted it to the general fund, which created a huge pot of money that was available to waste.

We willfully ignored the constitution and blew up the federal government and created social programs that the federal government has no business doing that now are woven into the fabric of Americans' lives and any cuts are used as political fodder by whatever political opposition to those that would seek to restrain spending or government growth.

Jack Boyette said:

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Jeeper79 said:

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It could hit $40T before he leaves office.

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It's Congress that created this mess. SS and Medicare have to be cut.

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So many other things that can be cut as well.

Defense spending could be cut significantly - and we'd still outspend the next 5-10 countries combined. Every bit of foreign aid. 75% of the entire federal government could go away and we'd actually be approaching what the Constitution grants the fed in terms of powers. Any and all entitlements, etc.

it is mathematically impossible to pay off the debt in any real world environment.

so it would be wise to prepare for the eventual day when it all comes crashing down. it happens to every empire and it definitely happens to anyone who has fiat currency.

The only way to cut into the debt is to cut social security and Medicare. Use those taxes to pay the debt. At this point I don't know who would vote to do that. I think we rather default than actually fix the problem.

Fat Bottom Squirrels said:

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I don't think the DOGE cuts will have any discernible effect on anything. It's almost entirely for optics and transparency.

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It's a good first step in the right direction.

No one can claim that waste is not a problem. Doge has made that 100% clear and proven it.

We are going to need to suffer quite a bit more before we start to actually reform.

I believe that the changes will be sudden, drastic, and painful. At some point, we really are going to start putting politicians in jail. I think we are a ways away from that yet.

Jack Boyette said:

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Jeeper79 said:

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It could hit $40T before he leaves office.

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It's Congress that created this mess. SS and Medicare have to be cut.

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Along with Medicaid, defense, education, all welfare programs and agricultural subsidies, foreign aid, etc.

I think the big beautiful budget plan extends the debt ceiling past 40T so yes it will hit 40T.

Spending is going to happen. Just vote for what you want to spend on.

Jeeper79 said:

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American Hardwood said:

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I accept that both parties contributed to this mess.

But my vote went to the best candidate that I could vote for to do the exact opposite of what has occurred. It's not my fault that these candidates fail either by lack of power to change things themselves or because they were liars with no intent to change anything. There isn't anything else I can do except revolt and that would accomplish even less than continuing to hope the next guy I vote for can do something positive.

So, I do not accept your premise that I still bear blame for the egregious deficits our leaders have created over the decades. I wasn't even alive when most of this began, and I didn't vote for anyone that campaigned for greater deficit spending.

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I generally agree with you. But if we don't demand more from our elected officials, this doesn't change. It's too late once they're in office. We need better nominees or to demand more from the nominees we've got.

I'm not expressly blaming you (or me), but saying you didn't have a hand in it is a very short step away from saying it's out of your hands or that you can't do anything about it.

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I understand and agree, but the flipside of the highlighted part is that it is also a very short step to abrogating responsibility from where it belongs to those it does not.

Leftism loves spreading the pain caused by the few to the many and arguments stating the equivalency of all people such as "It's everyone that created this mess" is the kind of argument they would make, not saying that was your intention.

Fat Bottom Squirrels said:

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I don't think the DOGE cuts will have any discernible effect on anything. It's almost entirely for optics and transparency.

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Yes, and no. The amount of cuts are significant if you consider the fact that had those cuts not been made those expensive would've recurred on an annual basis. Have to start somewhere.

jt2hunt said:

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Fat Bottom Squirrels said:

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I don't think the DOGE cuts will have any discernible effect on anything. It's almost entirely for optics and transparency.

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Yes, and no. The amount of cuts are significant if you consider the fact that had those cuts not been made those expensive would've recurred on an annual basis. Have to start somewhere.

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You absolutely have to start somewhere and I am all for getting rid of the waste and fraud but if we are going to even come close to balancing the budget, major reform is needed in Social Securty, Medicare and Medicaid which Trump and the Republicans (along with the Dems) have said aren't going to be touched.

Kansas Kid said:

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jt2hunt said:

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Fat Bottom Squirrels said:

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I don't think the DOGE cuts will have any discernible effect on anything. It's almost entirely for optics and transparency.

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Yes, and no. The amount of cuts are significant if you consider the fact that had those cuts not been made those expensive would've recurred on an annual basis. Have to start somewhere.

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You absolutely have to start somewhere and I am all for getting rid of the waste and fraud but if we are going to even come close to balancing the budget, major reform is needed in Social Securty, Medicare and Medicaid which Trump and the Republicans (along with the Dems) have said aren't going to be touched.

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Exactly right. We are never going to make a dent in the national debt without touching entitlements. Completely out of control. Just read today that California needs a 2.8 BILLION dollar bailout because of all of the illegal immigrants it covers on its state healthcare plan. So entirely avoidable and so effing infuriating.

Fat Bottom Squirrels said:

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I don't think the DOGE cuts will have any discernible effect on anything. It's almost entirely for optics and transparency.

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It's to reduce the grip of government on its citizens.

Crashing the economy was totally fine when boomers thought they were going to die from a 99.7% survivable virus that didn’t affect young people.

— Aesthetica (@Anc_Aesthetics) April 7, 2025