DISCOVER OUR STORY
A Duty to the Future
In the Black, launched in 2019 as the Millennial Debt Foundation, was founded to raise awareness and engagement around reckless fiscal policy in Washington, DC and the bleak world it would leave to our children.
We quickly realized that the most important venue for that conversation was in states that were already employing strong fiscal management.
Starting in our home state of Tennessee, we rebranded as “In the Black” to engage with business leaders, elected officials, and others who are interested in leaving it better for those who are to come.
The National Debt by the Numbers
Our current path is a slow-motion disaster
$870B
Interest payments on national debt in 2024
99%
Current size of the national debt relative to the US Economy
77%
Percentage of debt-driving legislation that enjoyed bipartisan support (both parties made this mess)
$2T
Average projected annual deficit over the next decade
OUR PROJECTS
We are committed to presenting solutions
These projects represent our commitment to the future of our country.
What We Owe The Future
A set of 10 common-sense policy recommendations to stabilize our debt and secure our nation's prosperity.
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Tennessee Resilience Playbook
States can’t fix D.C.’s math or its melodrama. But they can decide, right now, how to protect classrooms, keep hospitals open, and stay in the black when the federal tide turns. This series is the playbook.
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STAY INFORMED
The latest from our team
PRESS RELEASE: As Tennessee Holds Public Budget Hearings, In the Black Cautions that Federal Education Funding in Tennessee May be in Peril
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE / ACCESS Newswire / November 10, 2025 / As state agencies prepare to present their requested FY27 budgets to the governor and other budget leaders, In the...
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The Price of Irresponsibility
The fact that the federal government is now enduring the longest shutdown in U.S. history speaks volumes about the breakdown in budget process and fiscal...
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$38 Trillion And Counting: The Milestone TN Shouldn’t Celebrate
Washington just crossed another line on the national credit card: gross federal debt topped $38 trillion, barely ~10 weeks after we blew past $37T. The...
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A CALL TO STEWARDSHIP