AI Conservatism or Waste???

Benjamin Franklin was frugal and wise—and today, he is likely rolling in his grave. The federal government burns through hundreds of billions of $100 bills like a wildfire, pushing our national debt toward a staggering $39 trillion.

The current political agenda is defined by aggressive tax cuts, sweeping tariffs, and targeted spending. Rather than shrinking the federal footprint, trade interventions and Trump's war continue to drive up projected deficits.

​Our nation is in fiscal decline. The U.S. government continues to spend far more than it takes in, with federal debt projected to reach $53 trillion by 2036 without major policy changes. Most Americans sense the danger: 76% believe Washington spends far too much while the current administration runs this 

Now our AI-crazed casino is headed toward bankruptcy. With nearly $3 trillion invested in artificial intelligence, taxpayers shouldn't just be concerned about the return on our investment, but the return of it. "We the people" will pay dearly for this gamble.

Now the half-a-trillion-dollar market swings have become the norm for Musk's SpaceX whose astronomical investments in AI is 56 times to revenues. A price-to-revenue ratio of 56 times revenues means a company's total market value (or price) is 56 times larger than the total money it takes in from sales each year. If a company makes $1 billion in revenue, investors are willing to buy or value the entire company for $56 billion. 

​Presently, an unprecedented volume of insurance capital—trillions in policyholder premiums known as "the float"—is being channeled directly into funding the massive physical infrastructure of AI. From multi-gigawatt data center complexes to GPU-collateralized loans and power grid extensions, insurance balance sheets are emerging as the unsung engine powering tech's most expensive experiment.

​Today’s tech billionaires are playing a familiar game: privatizing profits while socializing losses. AI-linked and mega-cap tech stocks now make up roughly 40% to 45% of the S&P 500 by market capitalization, with concentration on the tech-heavy Nasdaq sitting even higher. Whether this massive infrastructure spending yields long-term corporate profits remains to be seen. But with three-quarters of consumers remaining skeptical, how will the public benefit while bearing the tremendous costs—including spiraling electricity, water, and environmental strains?

Growing up in Washington, D.C., I wore many environmental hats, eventually serving as a federal environmental executive. The sheer volume of government waste I witnessed was staggering—and today, it is growing exponentially.

Where is the national outrage over such tragic overspending and total lack of accountability for unintended consequences? Who is candidly addressing the true economic impact of this AI boom?

​Meanwhile, government oversight offers little relief. A congressional review of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) uncovered $21.7 billion in waste. While that sounds massive, it represents only about 2% of the federal government’s nearly $7 trillion annual budget. Unfortunately, DOGE saved only a fraction of its hundred-billion-dollar claims—all while compromising private Social Security data in the process.

Total federal spending increased by $114 billion in the first seven months of FY2026 alone. The administration’s FY2027 budget proposes $1.5 trillion for national defense—a historic 42% increase—paired with a 10% cut to non-defense discretionary spending. This fuels additional military overspending marked by limited transparency and weak accounting.

​Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has leaned unusually hard on cheaper, short-term debt to finance a roughly $2 trillion annual deficit. While three-month bills yield significantly less than 10-year Treasuries and 30-year bonds, relying on short-term debt leaves the government dangerously exposed to inflation and rising interest rates.

The U.S. bond market tells the rest of the story. Record federal deficits are forcing unprecedented Treasury bond issuance just as traditional overseas buyers, including foreign central banks, scale back purchases. Rising long-term yields and persistent inflation fears are driving up borrowing costs, complicating the Federal Reserve's balance between economic growth and price stability. Furthermore, our mounting debt has diminished the traditional "convenience yield" of U.S. Treasuries, causing bonds to lose their historical effectiveness as a hedge against stock market volatility.

​Today, our national prosperity depends on avoiding climate tipping points and shifting our collective mindset from consumers to conservators. Our $39 trillion national debt and $1.22 trillion in annual interest payments stand as urgent warnings.

​Simultaneously, Social Security's retirement trust fund is projected to be depleted by 2032. When these reserves run dry, incoming payroll taxes will cover only about 78% of scheduled benefits, triggering an automatic 22% benefit cut for retirees.

​Healthcare offers a parallel cautionary tale. I was fortunate to observe my father’s career—described by The Washington Post in the 1980s as "the unobtrusive shaper of law"—as he spent nearly 40 years crafting major healthcare legislation. Today, the U.S. healthcare system loses an estimated $760 billion to $1.6 trillion annually to waste, representing 25% to 30% of total healthcare spending driven by administrative complexity, pricing failures, and inefficient care delivery.

​If the AI bubble experiences a sharp correction, the fallout won't just hit Silicon Valley venture capitalists—it will ripple through the balance sheets protecting everyday American families. It is time for state regulators to pull back the curtain on AI private credit before policyholders discover where their money was really spent.

​Real reform requires deep structural changes, true accountability, and absolute transparency. We must implement multi-year budgeting, performance incentives, and a strict separation between regulators and market participants. Reckless deregulation and gutting tax enforcement merely strip the Treasury of the revenue it is legally owed, while privatizing government services without proper oversight simply saddles future taxpayers with enormous liabilities.

The Trump administration executes multi-billion-dollar government contracts involving quid pro quo arrangements with the AI tech sector. The government plays the dual role of regulator and market participant, complete transparency is essential to prevent conflicts of interest and protect public trust.

Ultimately, designing wiser systems—not broadcasting louder rhetoric—is the only path to a government that rewards stewardship over harmful inefficiency. Unless we wake up to these financial realities, we will end up burying the opportunities of future generations. Wisdom is endangered, and the massive AI gamble is not conservative governance.