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The US debt will surge to $56 trillion in the next 10 years as government spending outpaces revenues

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5 months ago

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The US debt will surge to trillion in the next 10 years as government spending outpaces revenues

  • The national debt will keep soaring over the next 10 years, according to the CBO.
  • The agency estimates the national debt will rise to $56 trillion by 2034.
  • The national deficit, meanwhile, is set to hit $1.9 trillion by the end of this fiscal year.

The US’s $34 trillion debt mountain isn’t shrinking anytime soon.

According to the latest projections from the Congressional Budget Office, the national debt is on track to hit $56.9 trillion by the start of 2034.

The latest estimates reflect a steeper pace of government borrowing than predicted in the previous quarter. According to its report published on Tuesday, the federal agency’s newest projection implies a 64% increase in the national debt over the next 10 years, or around $3 trillion in debt tacked on every year for the next decade.

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The US is on track to post a $1.9 trillion deficit by the end of this fiscal year — which amounts to around 6% of GDP, given current dollar GDP estimates at the end of last year. That’s far larger than the 50-year average deficit, which has been 3.7% of national GDP, the CBO said.

“The largest contributor to the cumulative increase was the incorporation of recently enacted legislation into CBO’s baseline, which added $1.6 trillion to projected deficits,” the agency added, pointing to billions in emergency aid sent to Ukraine, Israel, and other countries in the Indo-Pacific region.

Economists have been sounding the alarm on the rapid pace of government borrowing for years, with experts saying mounting debt poses a threat to the stability of the financial system over the long term. Higher debt levels could stoke inflation and impact the government’s ability to fund key programs, like Social Security and even the military, experts told Business Insider.

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