Democratic socialism’s $50 trillion price tag
By Peter Navarro | October 6, 2026 | The Washington Times
The White House Council of Economic Advisers has weighed and measured the Democratic Socialists of America’s agenda and found it wanting, to the tune of a $52.8 trillion federal fiscal burden over 10 years, or about $49 trillion after crediting a billionaire wealth tax.
Just how big is a $49 trillion DSA budget hole? Deep enough to bury the American economy.
Under the Congressional Budget Office’s baseline, debt held by the public is already on track to reach 120% of gross domestic product by 2036. Borrow that $49 trillion to cover the DSA deficit, and that ratio more than doubles, to 254%. Interest payments alone could exceed projected federal revenue.
That is the macro picture. Now for the micro.
The Council of Economic Advisers modeled all eight pillars of DSA’s 2026 program. Seven carry direct fiscal and budget consequences, totaling a crushing $52.8 trillion in potential federal costs and lost revenue before factoring in a billionaire wealth tax that comes nowhere close to covering the deficit. The eighth pillar carries a human cost.
“Medicare for All” is the Big Kahuna. It adds $47.4 trillion to federal deficits. Canceling all student debt and making tuition free at every college would cost $3.6 trillion.
Add roughly $530 billion more for open borders and mass amnesty.
How about a 32-hour workweek with no cut in pay? That costs $918 billion in lost federal revenue, cuts 4.2 million to 6.9 million jobs, concentrated among workers earning $14 to $24 an hour, and pushes unemployment from 4.1% to between 6.6% and 8.2%.
Then there is the Green New Deal. It costs the Treasury $370 billion in lost tax revenue. The far larger hit, more than $12 trillion over 25 years, lands on families and businesses through higher electricity, heating and car costs. Add rent control, and the gross DSA policy total is $52.8 trillion.
To fill that DSA fiscal hole, Washington must either borrow the money or take it from you in higher taxes.
Borrow it, and America’s deficit rises from 5.8% of GDP to more than 21%. The 10-year Treasury yield rises by nearly 6 percentage points, and 30-year mortgage rates could top 12%.
Meanwhile, the Council of Economic Advisers estimates that inflation would climb into double digits — and could rise as high as 160% over the next 10 years. The reason is simple: When Washington spends trillions of dollars that it has no plan to repay, that money chases the same goods, and investors expect the debt to be inflated away. Either way, prices rise.