The United States Treasury has paid $1.1 trillion in interest on the national debt over the past 12 months, surpassing annual expenditures on Medicare and defense, which were $828 billion and $806 billion respectively. Experts warn that interest costs are poised to exceed all defense spending this year, with the gap expected to widen significantly over the next decade, exacerbating fiscal challenges. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) had initially estimated net interest outlays for the year at $284 billion but has since revised the figure to $870 billion, more than tripling the initial estimate. Additionally, the Treasury is increasing borrowing rates to over 4%, projecting the annual interest expense to reach $1.6 trillion by December. In just 6 months into fiscal 2024, the Treasury has already paid out $522 billion in interest expense. This surge in interest payments has sparked concerns over the sustainability of the government's fiscal path, with calls for immediate action to address the burgeoning debt and prevent a potential financial collapse.
The U.S. is now borrowing $100k per second. It’s critical Congress address this debt death spiral, immediately. Bring the House’s FY25 Budget Resolution to the floor. Let’s review those top-line numbers and start cutting wasteful spending. It’s time to do our job. https://t.co/N34yfxlpU1
We're only 6 months into fiscal 2024 and the @USTreasury has already shelled out $522 billion in interest expense to service US debt. https://t.co/rpgyfdAxt6
The @ManhattanInst's @Brian_Riedl notes that interest on debt is bigger than defense spending, Medicaid in fed budget. Next stop: Medicare! I talked with him recently for @reason about how we got to a point where more and more of the federal budget will go to paying off the… https://t.co/KcFxSqfqjp
“One not-so-fun fact: In February 2021, CBO estimated net interest outlays this year would total $284 billion. Earlier this year, CBO raised the estimate to $870 billion. That's more than triple the earlier figure” https://t.co/hee12pfx68
Interest on the debt is already the government's biggest expense and growing fast. We're already in a debt spiral, so without serious spending cuts, this will grow exponentially until the whole system collapses. Feeling more and more like a controlled demolition every day. https://t.co/mG6fndsakd
The US government is goosing its spending into the November election. This is forcing the Treasury to raise borrowing at 4%+, pushing the US annual interest expense to $1.6 trillion by December. There's no fixing this, and nobody in D.C. would dare try. https://t.co/OtiPmZgGKK
Our country’s debt continues to climb and is becoming dangerously high. We’re on an unsustainable path and the Biden administration has only made it WORSE. We cannot continue to spend money we don’t have and crush future generations when they’re the ones who will have to pay for…
Soaring interest costs to exceed defense spending as government faces fiscal reckoning https://t.co/nYFTMDxp6f https://t.co/nYFTMDxp6f
Soaring interest costs are set to exceed all defense spending this year, with the gap only growing over the next decade as lawmakers stare down major fiscal problems Some insight from @Brian_Riedl + @MayaMacGuineas https://t.co/OVSzZEPNeY
US Treasury has paid $1.1 Trillion in interest payments on US debt in the last 12 months. For context, in FY 2023, we spent just $828 billion on Medicare & $806 billion on defense. Now, just imagine that (1) we keep incurring more debt and (2) rates increase. Disastrous. https://t.co/neG7fbDd10