The United States federal government is one of, if not the, largest debtors on the planet, currently holding $36 trillion in debt. That's a "T" followed by a "rillion."

The United States federal government is also one of, if not the, largest landowner on the planet, currently holding over 615 million acres through various agencies, like the Bureau of Land Management, the Forest Service, various national parks and monuments, and so on.

Thomas Sowell, economist, economic philosopher, commentator, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, professor of economics at several major universities, and one of the smartest people on the planet, has proposed a way that one of these things can be used to help address the other.

In short: Sales of federal land could be used to pay down the debt.

There is much to be said for the new administration’s plan to have a nongovernmental organization investigate how well, or how badly, government agencies are currently handling the taxpayers’ money. But there is a limit to how much money can be recovered by simply cutting back on “waste, fraud and abuse” in federal spending.

There are, however, additional billions of dollars that could be tapped, from a source that not many people think about. That is the vast—almost unbelievable—amount of land owned by the federal government. Some of that land—such as military bases—is used to house the government’s own operations. But the great majority of that land is not.

We aren't talking a few hundred acres, either. The Western states in particular include a lot of federal lands. Nevada is 80 percent federal land. Utah, 63 percent, Idaho, 62 percent, and Alaska (amazingly) is in 4th place, with 60.9 percent - although we have far and away the greatest total amount, with over 222 million acres held by the federal government; that's about a third of the total amount of federal landholdings.

Much of this land has considerable market value:

The idea of selling huge amounts of government-owned land is not new. Before the federal income tax was created in the early 20th century, land sales were sometimes a significant source of federal government income in the preceding two centuries. The prospect of large-scale land sales was considered during the Reagan administration, but the political opposition was too strong.

As of 2015, government-owned lands were valued at $1.8 trillion by the Commerce Department. This is the kind of money that can make a real contribution to the government’s fiscal balance, at a time when so many government operations are urgently in need of support.

Now, if the Commerce Department's estimation is correct, the sale of every last acre would barely make a dent in the national debt. Now, that's not what Dr. Sowell is proposing; he is proposing using the proceeds from such sales to help fund the federal government.

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Now, loathe as I am to differ with Dr. Sowell - a man I truly respect and admire beyond measure, and who, when it comes to economics, I am not even in the same time zone as his league. Nevertheless, I do have some concerns with this proposal.

One, of course, is purely selfish. Most of the federal land in question is open to public use, for hunting, camping, fishing, and so on - despite the efforts of environmentalists and Democrats to restrict access. I make use of those lands myself. 

But most of my concerns are not so selfish.

First: If this were sold as a debt-reduction idea, I have zero faith - none - that Congress would actually apply any monies obtained to the national debt. If we have learned nothing in the last couple of decades, it's that almost nobody in Washington gives an ounce of rat's droppings about the national debt. The money would be used as most government revenues are used - to buy votes. Such a scheme would require a strict statutory restriction that any money from federal land sales would be applied to the debt and only to the debt, but I don't see Congress restricting themselves like that.

Second: I have to question the Commerce Department's assessment as to the value of these lands. Were millions of acres of federal land to be dumped on the market at once, this would certainly depress prices. Supply and demand apply to land as to any other commodity or service.

There are two alternatives, of course. Some of these lands could be opened up under the Homestead Act. This Act allows citizens to claim 160 acres of public land, with the requirement that they build a home and live on the property for five years, following which they are given title. This would put land in private hands, and while no revenues would be obtained directly, converting what is now empty land to productive use would yield economic benefits over time. Or, the land, or at least much of it, could be handed over to the states, which is a more appropriate level of government to be determining land use.

As for the federal debt, there is only one way we are ever going to extricate ourselves, as a nation, from this calamity: Cut spending. No, not a "reduction in the rate of increase." I mean cut. Swing a Viking war-axe at the federal government. Cut away all the dead weight. If Congress needs a guideline as to what are actually essential and legal responsibilities for the federal government, well, as it happens, there is already an excellent set of guidelines.