On June 21, the House Budget Committee passed a budget resolution that could make substantive, positive changes to entitlement programs such as Medicare — changes essential to reigning in the national debt. Of course, you probably didn’t notice this tidbit of news amid President Trump’s tweet calling Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., an “extraordinarily low IQ person,” the focus on controversial family separations, and talk of first lady Melania Trump’s curious wardrobe choices. But this budget plan deserves more attention, because it is our national debt, not our trade deficit, that poses a significant threat to the economy.

Trump and his allies frequently claim we need tariffs to bring back jobs from overseas. Trump insists that our trade deficit is the source of our economic woes, tweeting that “jobs and wealth are being given to other countries that have taken advantage of us for years.” However, the trade deficit — the number of American products purchased by foreign consumers relative to the number of imported products purchased by U.S. consumers — does not affect true economic indicators like the unemployment rate.