(MENAFN- Trend News Agency)
The national debt of the United States blew past $31 trillion
for the first time ever Tuesday, a grim milestone that comes amid
soaring interest rates that threaten to strain the government's
finances, reports citing .
It comes just nine months after the last milestone of $30
trillion, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal
Budget, and only five years after reaching $20 trillion. The
unprecedented spree of government borrowing brought forth by the
COVID-19 pandemic, and further borrowing to stimulate the economy,
has helped to contribute to the majority of this figure.
'This is a new record no one should be proud of,' Maya
MacGuineas, president of the CRFB, said in a statement. 'In the
past 18 months, we've witnessed inflation rise to a 40-year high,
interest rates climbing in part to combat this inflation, and
several budget-busting pieces of legislation and executive actions.
Just in 2022, Congress and the President have approved a combined
$1.9 trillion in new borrowing, and President Biden has approved
$4.9 trillion in new deficits since taking office. We are addicted
to debt.'
The U.S. debt reached new heights due to increased spending
during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan following 9/11 and has been
on an upward trajectory ever since.
'Even more troubling than where the debt stands now is where
it's going. Our nation faces significant fiscal challenges in the
near term. Medicare is only six years from insolvency, and Social
Security insolvency is only 12 years away. Yet policymakers have
put forth no plan to put either program on strong fiscal footing,'
MacGuineas said.
A growing national debt can place strains on the government.
Rising federal debt means greater interest costs for the
government, making it harder to spend on other needs, such as the
social safety net and the military. Greater spending on interest
payments, in turn, raises the debt and borrowing costs, raising the
threat of a debt spiral.
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