The United States National Debt: A Political Threat to National Security

The assumption that national debt is a threat to national security is made so frequently it is accepted as fact without providing the direct linkage nor identifying the variables and conditions that drive the threat or how it may evolve over time. There are multiple ways the national debt can harm national security and the U.S. economy. The U.S. must be considered separately from countries when discussing debt metrics because it holds a special place in the world economy. The national debt is a threat to national security predominantly in a political sense instead of an economic concern. The greatest threat is a large reduction, greater than 10% in a given year, in DoD funding appropriated by Congress. While the threat from the debt is political in nature there are steps the DoD can take to limit the risks of Congressional reductions.