For years, America’s national debt was just an enormous number that rarely seemed to impact everyday life.

That may be changing.

The national debt has passed $40 trillion.

At the same time, investors are demanding higher interest rates to lend money to the federal government.

That might sound like a Wall Street story.

But it isn’t.

Treasury yields influence borrowing costs throughout the economy.

When the federal government has to pay more to borrow money, borrowing generally becomes more expensive throughout the economy too.

That matters in Mississippi.

A farmer financing equipment, for example, can face higher interest rates.

And that leaves less money for everything else.

Mississippi’s Third Congressional District candidate Michael A. Chiaradio has made the national debt part of his economic platform.

But his proposed solution is somewhat different from the usual Washington debate over simply raising taxes or cutting programs.

Chiaradio argues that America has to produce more.

His economic platform calls for expanding American factories, farms and infrastructure while maintaining globally competitive tax rates and limiting corporate loopholes.

The basic theory is that a larger and more productive economy can generate more government revenue, making the country’s debt burden more manageable over time.

That doesn’t make the $40 trillion disappear.

In fact, Chiaradio has argued that America’s debt is more likely to grow than shrink in the near future.

But his argument raises an important point.

Debt is not just about how much a country owes.

It is also about its ability to support that debt.

A family earning $30,000 and owing $100,000 is in a very different financial position from a family earning $300,000 and owing the same amount.

Countries are more complicated, but the basic relationship still matters.

The United States can debate taxes and spending indefinitely.

Eventually, however, America’s ability to support its obligations depends on the real goods and services underneath them.

That brings the national debt debate directly back to places like Mississippi.

Can more food be grown?

Can more products be produced?

Can Mississippi businesses expand around that growth?

Can infrastructure be built and replaced to support it?

Those questions aren’t separate from America’s debt problem.

They are part of it.

Washington has spent decades borrowing from the future.

The challenge now is making sure America builds an economy large and productive enough to support what it owes.

And in 2026, Chiaradio is making the case that some of that rebuilding can start in Mississippi.