Posted 12/20/2023, 2:17:00 PM
Soaring Interest Payments Fuel Alarm Over Ballooning National Debt
- Large budget deficits and high interest rates making national debt unsustainable; interest payments on debt surged to over $659B in 2023
- 2023 deficit was $1.7 trillion, third largest in history behind pandemic spending in 2020 and 2021
- Unclear when debt burden becomes unsustainable but some estimates are 80-200%+ debt-to-GDP ratio; projected to reach 180% by 2053
- Interest payments now exceed spending on some programs like children and Medicaid; will surpass defense budget in just 3 years
- Lawmakers starting to address issue but much more action needed to control debt and ensure sustainability