Understanding Public Debt
Public debt, sometimes called government debt, is money borrowed by governments. Like all debt, public debt finances spending today by borrowing on the promise to repay what is borrowed in the future with interest. This Explainer looks at public debt, its impact on taxpayers, and what, if anything, can be done to mitigate the scope and impact of that debt.
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Ryan M. Yonk
Ryan M. Yonk is the Director of Educational Programs at the American Institute for Economic Research. He holds a PhD from Georgia State University and a MS and BS from Utah State University. Prior to joining AIER he held academic positions at North Dakota State University, Utah State University, and Southern Utah University, and was one of the founders of the Strata Policy. He is the (co) author or editor of numerous books including Green V. Green, Nature Unbound: Bureaucracy vs. the Environment, The Reality of American Energy, and Politics and Quality of Life: The Role of Well-Being in Political Outcomes. He has also (co) authored numerous articles in academic journals including Public Choice, The Independent Review, Applied Research in Quality of Life, and the Journal of Private Enterprise. His research explores how policy can be better crafted to achieve greater individual autonomy and prosperity.
Thomas Savidge
Thomas Savidge is a Research Fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research. He earned his Master in Public Policy from George Mason University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Philosophy from SUNY New Paltz.
Prior to joining AIER, Mr. Savidge was a Research Director at the American Legislative Exchange Council focusing on tax and fiscal policy. He was a co-author of several publications focused on public pensions, public retiree benefits, bonded obligations, tax and expenditure limits, and state taxes. In 2020, Mr. Savidge published a peer-reviewed study on Tennessee public retirement systems with the PERI Center at MTSU titled, “Tennessee Public Pensions: A Model for Reform.”
Mr. Savidge has also written articles published in The Wall Street Journal, The Orange County Register, Taxnotes, The Washington Post, US News & World Report, The New York Post, and The Daily Caller.
