Federal Government Debt Is Soaring

Chris EdwardsFederal government debt rose from $3.3 trillion in 2001, to $10.1 trillion in 2011, to $23.0 trillion in 2021. Under current law, the CBOexpects debt to rise to $35.8 trillion by 2031. If Congress passes the spending increases in the Democratic budget resolution, debt will rise to $40.1 trillion by 2031,according to CRFB. This is “debt held by the public,” meaning federal borrowing from domestic and foreign creditors.The chart scales the debt to the number of U.S. households. Debt per household under the Democratic plan would rise from $179,082  in 2021 to $288,047 by 2031. That debt is not like mortgage debt where households have a hard asset to match what they owe. Rather, it is the government going on a consumption spending spree and putting $288,047 on each household’s credit card. That is because just5  percent of federal spending is for hard assets such as highways and fighter jets. By ballooning the debt today, politicians are imposing large and rising burdens on households tomorrow.Here are further observations:Federal debt today is 103 percent of GDP and would rise to119 percent by 2031 under the Democratic spending plan. That level of debt is higher than the 31 percent reached in the Civil War, 33 percent reached in World War I, and 106 percent reached in World War II. Today we are not at war, and politicians show no interest in paying down the debt as they did after past wars.Bill Clinton was the last president to balance the budget, but the ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs