Alva Review-Courier -

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government surpassed a dubious milestone this week: Its debt topped $22 trillion — that's trillion, with a "t'' — for the first time.

Piles of federal debt have been growing ever higher for years, fueled by accumulating annual deficits, which themselves have been driven by tax cuts, government spending increases and the mounting costs of Medicare and Social Security and interest on the debt itself.

Under President Donald Trump, the national debt has topped $20 trillion (September 2017) $21 trillion (March 2018) and now $22 trillion. As a presidential candidate, Trump had...