CONCORD, N.H. — With the nation’s debt now exceeding $40 trillion and Social Security’s retirement trust fund projected to be depleted in 2032, The Concord Action New Hampshire Advisory Board is calling on every candidate for federal office in New Hampshire this year to tell voters what they would actually do about the country’s deteriorating fiscal condition.
Bipartisan Co-Chairs, Brad Cook and Richard Swett, issued this statement following the Board’s most recent meeting:
“The numbers have become too large to ignore—and too consequential to pass on to the next generation. For perspective, $40 trillion is about:
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718 times as large as all wages and salaries paid by employers to workers in New Hampshire in 2025 (Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025)
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5,035 times as large as the entire annual expenditures of the current New Hampshire State Budget (Source: New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute, The State Budget for Fiscal Years 2026 and 2027)
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7,778 times as large as all property taxes paid to the State and to local governments in New Hampshire in 2025 (Source: New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration, Municipal and Village District Tax Rates and Other Data, 2025)
“As a nation, we already spend more for interest on the national debt than we do for national defense. Mortgages, business loans and car payments are all higher because federal government borrowing is driving interest rates higher. All of these problems will grow worse if left unchecked, placing an unfair burden on younger generations.
“A further concern that hits home for people in New Hampshire is Social Security. The program’s retirement trust fund is projected to be depleted in 2032, within the term of whoever is elected to the United States Senate in November. After trust fund depletion, incoming revenues would cover only about 78 percent of scheduled benefits. That translates into a 22 percent across-the-board cut for all beneficiaries. Simply borrowing to fill the gap would just add to the debt and end Social Security’s status as a self-financed program.
“Candidates of both parties have an obligation to level with voters. There are no magic solutions to close the massive gap between spending and revenues that is projected to keep growing on autopilot. Putting the budget on a sustainable path will require hard choices on specific policies. The question for candidates is not whether they are concerned about the debt. The question is ‘What are you prepared to do about it?’ Candidates should answer before voters go to the polls—not after.”
Brad Cook is a Manchester attorney. Richard Swett represented New Hampshire’s 2nd congressional district from 1991 to 1995.
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