The Lombard Review

Trump vs Harris: the bill for each

Lafayette Square in front of the White House, Washington, D.C.
Lafayette Square in front of the White House, Washington, D.C. Photo: AgnosticPreachersKid/Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

An exhaustive fiscal analysis published by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) delivered a sobering quantification of the 2024 presidential platforms. Evaluating the candidates' explicit economic proposals over a ten-year horizon, the CRFB concluded that Donald Trump’s agenda would add an estimated $7.5 trillion to the national debt, while Kamala Harris’s proposals would increase borrowing by $3.5 trillion.

The Midtown Manhattan skyline from the One World Observatory, with the Empire State Building at center.
The Midtown Manhattan skyline from the One World Observatory, with the Empire State Building at center. Photo: Christian David/Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

The Arithmetic of Fiscal Recklessness

Trump’s platform pairs permanent corporate tax cuts and tariff revenues with massive spending promises, while Harris’s agenda combines social subsidies and clean energy outlays with higher corporate taxes that will struggle to pass Congress. Neither candidate offers a mathematically viable plan to halt the expansion of the $35 trillion federal debt pile. Sovereign debt markets face an unending duration flood.

A close view of a cooling tower at the Gösgen nuclear power plant.
A close view of a cooling tower at the Gösgen nuclear power plant. Photo: Christian David/Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

The non-partisan fiscal audit of both presidential agendas confirms the sovereign bond market’s worst nightmare: America is committed to compounding multi-trillion-dollar deficits regardless of who wins.

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