Future historians looking back on the COVID-19 epidemic will likely record two U.S. domestic crises, one physical and the other psychological. The first we already know: the spread of a potentially lethal virus forcing a countrywide shutdown in order to slow the rate of infection. The second, soon to be painfully obvious, will stem from the sharp rise in government debt needed to support struggling businesses and unemployed workers during the shutdown. $3.8 trillion in 2020 alone, and more than $2.1 trillion in 2021. Had Washington politicians listened to the advice of knowledgeable commentators and used the economic recovery of the earlier decade to prudently build a financial cushion, this dramatic increase would not by itself create a financial emergency. But from 2010 to 2020, the federal government averaged deficits of more than $1 trillion per year, more than doubling its liabilities to $22 trillion. So when the new borrowing is added on, the resulting deficit will be...(Read Full Article)