1. United States
2. Tenn.
3. Letter

The national debt just crossed $40 trillion, and the CBO estimates the One Big Beautiful Bill alone will add another $4.2 trillion by 2034. The path forward is clear: repeal the Trump tax cuts and establish a 70% marginal rate on income above $1 million per year. We've been running deficits for 26 years while handing out tax cuts to the wealthy. The result is that the federal government now spends more on debt interest than on national defense or Medicare. Net interest costs are approaching $1 trillion annually. That money is being crowded out of every program Americans depend on, and it's pushing up mortgage rates, car loans, and credit card rates for ordinary people. The Peterson Foundation projects the debt hits $50 trillion in six years if nothing changes. Asking millionaires to pay 70% on income above $1 million is not radical — it's a structural fix to a structural problem. The revenue is there. What's been missing is the political will to go get it.