A big and scary number (the federal debt) greets drivers on the highway in Milwaukee

It’s a very large number, and it keeps getting larger.

That’s the message behind a new billboard that went up this week along Interstate 43 in downtown Milwaukee — a digital “debt clock” that displays a running 14-digit tally of the national debt, at $22 trillion and counting. It is also designed to display the size of the debt per person, currently more than $68,000.

“We thought it would be useful to get it out there and show the issue live, and in real-time,” said Michael Peterson, chairman and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, the organization that erected the LED billboard.

“We’re at a dangerous moment,” he said of the debt, and “we’re certainly not hearing enough about it.” 

The billboard stands just south of the Leinenkugel 10th Street Brewery and is the first of similar displays planned for several other cities, the group said. Peterson said one reason Milwaukee was chosen for the project is that “Wisconsin is a very important swing state and will play a key role in the election conversation.”

New York City is home to the original “national debt clock,” a much lower-tech version that was installed by a real estate developer in 1989 when the debt was under $3 trillion and has been upgraded, replaced and relocated in the city over the years.

The debt grew during the Obama presidency from around $11 trillion to nearly $20 trillion and has continued to grow under President Donald Trump.

The Congressional Budget Office last month projected that based on current policies, the debt would rise steadily from 79% of the gross domestic product in 2019 to 95% of the GDP in 2029, its highest level since just after World War II.  

An aging population, rising health care costs and the shortfall between growth in tax revenue and growth in mandatory federal spending are all fueling the annual deficits that drive the debt.

“The debt is large and growing,” Peterson said. “We’re sort of on an escalator going up if we don’t make any changes … any solution to our budget deficits will involve some degree of compromise. … That’s a hard thing (for the two parties) to talk about.”   

The Peterson Foundation is a nonpartisan group founded by the late financier and philanthropist after whom it is named and dedicated to focusing public attention on government deficits and debt. It has both Republicans and Democrats on its board.