The Julia La Roche Show · Thursday, October 1, 2026
Dr. Mark Thornton argues that the U.S. government's extensive borrowing, exceeding $40 trillion, significantly reduces the capital available for private sector investment in productive ventures. This competition for savings hinders the growth of new businesses, facilities, and tools, ultimately suppressing productivity and wage growth.
“Every dollar that the government borrows out of the economy means one less dollar available to entrepreneurs to actually invest in something that's productive. You know, new businesses, new facilities, new tools, new software to increase production and to increase labor productivity.”
“The natural way to higher wage rates and economic growth is through savings and investment. And the current situation where the government is gobbling up more and more of that pool of savings means that there's less available and it puts a downward investment, productivity, and wage growth in the economy.”
“Because of this competition between the government and private companies, between the government borrowing money and the AI industry expanding or the oil industry expanding or the electrical grid companies expanding, the more the government borrows, the less the private sector can do.”