I wasn't expecting a miracle, but I had hoped President Donald Trump would make a dent in the national debt. He talked about it enough on the campaign trail.

Now that the debt has hit $40 trillion, it's clear Republicans didn't just fail to fix the problem. They had full control of Washington and made it worse.

That number is hard to fathom, but it won't stay abstract for long. Interest on the debt alone now tops $1 trillion a year, more than we spend on anything except Social Security. It leads to higher inflation, higher interest rates, higher taxes, all of which slow the economy down.

That's not sustainable.

Unfortunately, our politicians aren't willing to make the tough decisions necessary to put us on a safer fiscal course. They're more concerned with the next election than with tackling the debt.

COVID spending spiked the debt, but that's only part of the problem

In less than 10 years, the debt has doubled. That's right – doubled.

About a third of the increase came from Trump's and........

© USA TODAY