Fact Checker: Joni Ernst and the federal debt

Introduction

'What does $57k mean to you? College tuition? Groceries for your family? Instead it's your share of nat'l debt.”

Source of claim: A Nov. 10 tweet from Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, referring to what she calls each American's share of the national debt.

Analysis

To finance any debt incurred by Congress, the U.S. Treasury sells bonds and other securities. When a person buys a bond, he or she is lending money to the government that will be paid back, with interest, later. The Ernst camp's sourcing for this statement was simple. They divided the total public outstanding debt ($18.6 trillion) by the U.S. population (around 322 million), which comes out to about $57,600.

This is a way of illustrating just how large the U.S. debt is, although it's an oversimplification of the issue. The government won't be knocking on your door anytime soon asking for the money.

'The debt is what the government owes in interest and principal,” said Cary Covington, an associate professor of political science at the University of Iowa. 'The government didn't have enough money from taxes, etc., to pay for the things it wanted to buy, so it went out and borrowed it from American citizens, foreign governments, banks etc. They lent us their money so we owe it back to them. The people who have to pay off the loans are the ones who have to pay off the debt.”

Ernst has been critical of the U.S. debt before, lambasting budget deals and a recent raising of the debt ceiling. While you shouldn't expect a bill for $57,600 coming in the mail, a large debt can have ramifications for the nation. For example, according to a 2011 article by U.S. News & World Report, higher interest rates on consumer loan products from mortgages to credit cards and students loans can occur. That's because the interest rates on U.S. Treasury bonds serve as the benchmark for many of these loans. And if interest rates increase, more government money will go toward interest payments instead of to other economically stimulating types of spending, resulting in a slower economy and weaker job markets.

Conclusion

Fact Checker scores the claim A. Ernst's statement intends to show just how large the U.S. debt really is and how it can have a negative impact on everyday people, so this tweet checks out.

Criteria

The Fact Checker team checks statements made by an Iowa political candidate/office holder or a national candidate/office holder about Iowa, or in advertisements that appear in our market. Claims must be independently verifiable. We give statements grades from A to F based on accuracy and context.

If you spot a claim you think needs checking, email us at factchecker@thegazette.com.

This Fact Checker was researched and written by Jessie Hellmann