Posted on 08/21/2026 8:09:52 AM PDT by Miami Rebel
Vice President Vance said Thursday night that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has a “very discreet plan” to shrink the nation’s debt.
“He [Bessent] has had a very discreet plan, of course, supported by the president of the United States, to get the United States to a point where our economy is growing faster than our debt,” Vance said on Newsmax’s “Carl Higbie Frontline.”
“And if you look, we are on track. So, even though the debt is too high, even though we inherited this debt bomb from the Biden administration, we actually do have a plan to get the economy growing faster than the debt and that’s the most important thing,” the vice president added.
On Thursday, Bessent claimed the U.S. can “grow” its way out of the national debt, which hit $40 trillion on Wednesday.
“There’s nothing magic about the $40 trillion number, and we can grow our way out of that,” Bessent told “Squawk on the Street” co-host Sara Eisen on CNBC.
“But what we do want to signal is I think there’s been a lot of misinformation in terms of what’s going on with the deficit, what’s going on with the deficit to GDP,” he added.
Bessent said that a temporary aspect of the debt comes from tariff refunds ordered by the Supreme Court in a February ruling against emergency tariffs from President Trump.
The Treasury Department head said U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is going to implement “the same level of tariffs,” and that he expects the “2026 tariff income is going to be roughly what it was in ’25.”
Lawmakers have recently raised concerns over the national debt, decrying Congress’s inability to sufficiently deal with an issue that has become harder to ignore.
The GOP has commonly cited federal spending and entitlement programs as main causes behind the debt, with Democrats emphasizing the need for increased taxation of wealthy Americans and corporations as well as spending reforms.
You miss the point. The debt also represents the amnount of taxes that have yet to be extracted from those who are creating jobs and wealth. The investments are what can be made after taxes. The noney has already been spent so to cover the cost the only source is taxes and taxes is a drain on the economy. The question that should be debated is what level of debt is ideal to grow the economy, not that the debt should be zero.
Another possibility is to tax government pension income that is more than $100,000/year.
“what level of debt”
basic research
doctor training
roads
sewer line extensions
new capital city infrastructure
> Another possibility is to tax government pension income that is more than $100,000/year. <
Isn’t that already taxed?
On the federal level, I mean. I know that some states don’t tax pensions.
The politician’s looting scams are killing this country. From coast to coast politicians pass legislation that sounds good as they are supposed to fix social problems and issues that are necessities for peaceful and healthful social existence. They fund these programs with billions of dollars but the problems persist and often times they get worse. Why? Because the legislation was a scam designed to create huge pools of money so it can be stolen by the very people that we pay to fix such problems. Now the politicians are passing legislation to make it a crime for anyone to investigate their crimes. Time to clean up this mess but we can expect the politicians to use their unconstitutional laws to stop any efforts to do so.
My first thought too. These drunken sailors will continue to overspend any amount of money they can get their grubby hands on - all in the name of “government doing good”.
And the more spending the more fraud...being more theft of the taxpayer.
“taxes is a drain on the economy”
Government should only do what people and corporations themselves can’t do and that needs doing.
[I need to do something possibly remunerative.]
How about cut spending, abolish all worthless federal agencies and balance the budget? How is that for a “discreet” plan?
How about a ONE year pause in all Foreign assistance. Freeze the growth(No automatic increase through “baseline budgeting”) for one year. Cut financial support for the UN(WHAT do they even do?). Cut our support of NATO by 50%. Confiscate a trillion dollars from IRAN assets. Continue to audit every “No work” welfare entitlement.
Vote out of office anyone who says “We need to cut Social Security and Medicare” or “We need to Raise Taxes.” Their is literally trillions of our dollars being wasted and fraudulently used.
“Isn’t that already taxed?”
an excise tax - all of the excess
$150,000
$50,000 haircut
1040 income tax on $100,000 remainder
What’s the government retiree going to do? Quit his job? Go on strike?
There are only a limited number of ways beloved programs can be cut. These programs are going to have to be funded, absolutely. It’s a matter of getting the money while doing the least harm.
Government pensions are a tax dodge. The money gets squirrelled away tax free for decades.
If I was making $400,000/year, I don’t get to shove $200,000 into another tax year where I would get the benefits of lower rates (10%, 27% instead of the upper tier rate).
“Confiscate a trillion dollars from IRAN assets.”
The assets (~$25 billion) are probably mainly in Arab banks.
The problem is Keynesian economics - we owe it to ourselves so yeeehaaaw - go print and borrow and spend. Friedman pointed out that it is not more spending that is the problem but rather whether you are getting something for it.
“some states don’t tax pensions”
Another possibility is to end federal payment for Medicaid type benefits that are abused and let states use federal power to tax its governmental retirees’ government pension income to fund the benefits at a rational level.
Put an end to getting a fat Illinois government pension, living in Florida and escaping Illinois income taxation of that pension.
The problem is Trump eagerly spends money we don’t have.
His veto is the most powerful weapon we have against runaway spending, but he actively campaigns to run out of Congress the people willing to cut spending and unwilling to increase it.
There may be a vague plan to grow the economy. But there is no way in h3ll that there is a plan to cut spending. Trump has already increased spending and raised taxes, neither of which is going to lead to an economy outgrowing spending.
So, rosy economic growth projections for the future will be used to justify more spending now.
I hate to break the news, but it’s actually 2+ trillion a year is the new normal.
If the deficit were to dop to $500B, they would go on a $500B spending spree.
It was Trump who demanded additional spending and a continuing resolution of Biden’s last budget. Now he demands another $500B so we can keep waging wars overseas.
R’s we will grow our way out as they spend additional money. D’s we will tax our way out as they spend that money and much more.
“Without meaningful plans to abolish the 3rd central bank, all this talk is pure nonsense.”
This.
You are correct. Trump has done good things. Getting a handle on illegal immigration, for example.
But he has shown no interest in addressing the federal debt. That puts him in the exact same category as the most reckless members of Congress. Borrow and spend.
Not much different than the reckless captain of the Titanic, if the captain knew he could escape the ship before it sank. Even if the majority of the passengers couldn’t.
As you point out, the problem is not confined to one party.
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