The national debt now exceeds $40 trillion. That equals roughly $117,000 for every man, woman and child in the United States.

The number is shocking, but the direction should worry us even more. Washington no longer borrows only during wars, recessions or national emergencies. The federal government now runs huge structural deficits every year. Congress spends far more than the government collects, then adds the difference to the debt with no credible plan to stop.

At this pace, the debt could reach $50 trillion as soon as 2032.

That burden is already shaping the lives of Americans who enter the workforce, buy homes, start businesses and raise families. Heavy federal borrowing competes with families and businesses for capital, pushing up the cost of mortgages, car loans and financing. Persistent deficits also add pressure to inflation, raising the price of rent, groceries, utilities and other necessities.

Interest costs create another squeeze. As Washington devotes more of the budget to servicing debt, Congress leaves less money for education, infrastructure, medical research, national defense and future economic emergencies. We spend more on yesterday’s decisions and preserve less capacity to invest in tomorrow.

Higher debt can also weaken economic growth by crowding out private investment. Businesses may delay expansion. Entrepreneurs may struggle to find affordable financing. Young adults who already face high housing costs, student debt and an uncertain retirement system will carry the heaviest burden.

This is a question of generational fairness. Younger Americans did not approve decades of debt-financed tax cuts and spending increases. Yet Washington expects them to absorb higher costs, weaker growth and fewer choices. That is intergenerational theft: One generation enjoys the benefits of borrowing while another inherits the bill.

Both parties own this failure. Republicans cut taxes without paying for them. Democrats expand spending without reliable financing. Each side condemns the other while defending its own exceptions to fiscal discipline. Congress repeats the pattern because lawmakers assume the consequences will arrive after the next election.

They are wrong. The consequences already appear in the federal budget, where interest consumes an ever-larger share of revenue. They appear in rising borrowing costs and shrinking room to respond when the country faces another recession or national emergency. Every year of delay narrows the options and raises the price.

Congress can break that cycle, but only by making the tough choices. Lawmakers should pay for new spending and tax cuts. They should reserve emergency funding for true emergencies, not use it as a loophole around budget rules. They also need a bipartisan plan that addresses the gap between what the government promises and what it collects.

That discussion must include spending and revenue and explicitly put Social Security, Medicare and the tax code on the table. No serious plan can protect every priority, avoid every sacrifice and satisfy both parties completely. Governing requires trade-offs, and honest leaders should explain them instead of pretending that borrowing offers a painless alternative.

Delay will not spare Americans from difficult choices. It will make them only harsher. A fiscal crisis, higher inflation or a spike in interest rates would impose changes quickly and unfairly, with the greatest pain falling on people least able to absorb it.

Crossing $40 trillion in debt should mark more than another grim headline. Congress should treat it as a trigger for action. Lawmakers must stop asking younger Americans to finance today’s promises and start governing as though the future matters — because it does.

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Carolyn Bourdeaux is the executive director of Concord Action and the Concord Coalition and a former member of Congress from Georgia.

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