According to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, the national debt now tops $22 trillion, translating to $126,000 per household–$49,000 per person.

When Obama’s first term in office began in 2009, it stood at $10.6 trillion, almost doubling to $19.9 trillion by the time he left office.

Then it was Trump’s turn to take over, vowing to eliminate the national debt in eight years. Soon thereafter, however, he called himself “the king of debt” and has been living up to his self-proclaimed title ever since.

No wonder, then, that a recent Orange County Register editorial points out this bleak picture:

• Citing the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the 2019 budget shortfall will hit the $900 billion mark. The supposedly “good news” is that it’s about $75 billion less than last year’s number.
• Moreover, says the CBO, from 2020 to 2029, if spending isn’t reined in, the national debt will likely grow some $12 trillion, even without taking into account the likelihood of a recession before 2029.

The big-ticket items behind the numbers:

• Social Security already costs about $1 trillion a year and anticipated “annual outlays will reach $1.9 trillion by 2029.”
• In 2018, the federal government shelled out $1.1 trillion to fund Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health programs; that’s expected to reach $2.1 trillion by 2029.
• Interest on the national debt stands at $364 billion for the fiscal year, October 1, 2018 through September 30, 2019.
• Trump’s recent tax cuts, with many economists predicting they won’t eventually pay for themselves as Trump maintains.

Curtis Kalin of Citizens Against Government Waste blames both parties adding that, “The fundamental problem is no one’s talking about it.”

And that has little chance of changing, since the so-called limited government Republicans have done zip to reduce spending, and the now progressive Democrats continue to call for more spending.

Write the Register’s editors, “Alas, it appears with today’s political discourse too often focused on the president’s latest Tweet, this practical issue will continue to be swept under the rug.”

Thus, the national debt will continue to soar, as both politicians and the public call for more/bigger federal programs and spending.