How South Georgians can plan financially in wake of national debt reaching $33 trillion, possible government shutdown

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - The national debt has hit $33 trillion dollars on Friday and a lot of people are concerned right now with the economy.

“Congress is definitely going to have to put their head together. It is a bipartisan topic. Democrats and Republicans realize that this is a #1 priority, not only for all of us now, but also for future generations to come,” Kent Patrick, a partner with Bush Wealth Management, said.

When asked what South Georgians should be concerned about and thinking about, Patrick said they should make sure that our Congress is doing things that actually fix the problem of the rising debt.

“Because right now it is starting to affect South Georgians.  Whenever you don’t have confidence in the market and the national debt continues to rise, it creates fear, which ultimately trickles down to them” he said.

The solution to the rising debt is common sense math, according to Patrick.

“You’ve got to lower expenses while raising your income, and how that relates to the government is unfortunately cutting expenses while having to raise taxes,” he said.

The sooner the problem is addressed, the easier it is going to be to solve the debt issue.

There is also the issue of a possible government shutdown. When asked about his thoughts on the possible shutdown, Patrick said that normally, Congress comes to an agreement.

“Even if it’s in the last moment, and we hope that speaker Kevin McCarthy can get on the same page and they can get this thing passed,” he said.

Patrick said Georgians should be thinking about their budget, the economy, their retirement plans and just overall planning.

“Even if you’re not planning, we always say that means you’re planning to fail. So sit down with somebody that you trust to focus on a budget and make sure your money is working for you,” he said.

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