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Fortune
Fortune
Steve H. Hanke, David M. Walker

The deficit just grew by $955 billion in 7 months. It's time for a constitutional fix to control the budget

trump (Credit: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The U.S. government is technically insolvent, with its liabilities far exceeding its assets, and its financial condition is deteriorating with each passing day. Washington seems to be addicted to deficit financing and the accumulation of an ever-increasing mountain of debt. Indeed, since 1961, there have only been five years in which the federal government’s budget registered a surplus and the Congressional Budget Office’s latest Monthly Budget Review revealed a $955 billion deficit over just seven months of fiscal 2026. That pace puts the full-year deficit on track to exceed $1.9 trillion — precisely the CBO’s own annual projection.

Many just shrug their shoulders, and say, so what, who cares? The federal government has been insolvent for many years, and budget deficits and debt are nothing new.

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