America’s debt is growing by $1 trillion every 100 days, and economists warn that if Congress doesn’t take action it’s only going to get worse.
The U.S. national debt, the money our federal government borrows to cover operating expenses, now stands at more than $34 trillion. If that’s not bad enough, the rapid rise in interest rates has pushed the annual payments on the debt far higher, threatening to bring a potential future crisis.
“Right now, we’re paying about $750 billion per year in interest costs, which again, is approximately equal to the amount the United States spends on National Defense, if you can believe it,” said Dr. Alexander Salter, associate professor of economics at Texas Tech University.
Dr. Salter says some forecasts predict the interest payments alone will soar well past the $1 trillion mark and could double by 2033. According to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, that’s more than America spends on the Department of Defense ($816.7 billion, in 2023), National Security ($30.3 billion, in 2023), and federal spending on children ($761 billion, in 2022) and several supplemental programs.
He also explains how the biggest drivers of the growing national debt are not solely driven by outlandish
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