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Interest Payments on National Debt Will Exceed Defense Spending This Decade, CBO Says
Center Square ^ | MARCH 1, 2023 | Casey Harper

Posted on 03/14/2023 9:21:32 AM PDT by george76

The cost of interest payments on the national debt will continue to grow as a financial burden for the U.S. over the next decade, even surpassing what the nation spends on national defense within a few years, a newly released budget analysis shows.

The national debt hit $31 trillion last fall and is well on its way to $32 trillion this year. As that debt grows, the U.S. Congressional Budget Office projects that the federal government will shell out over $10 trillion in the next decade on interest payments alone.

“To put this $10.5 trillion total in perspective, this means that spending on net interest will exceed all defense spending over the next decade,” the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said in its analysis of CBO’s data. “In addition, we estimate the net interest spending will surpass all federal spending on children this year, meaning that we will be paying more to service our debts of the past than to invest in future generations.

“For every dollar that the U.S. government will borrow over the next decade, 50 cents will be just to pay interest on our national debt,” the group added.

CBO also projects that the debt as a percentage of GDP will hit record levels in that time and average $2 trillion deficits.

The latest debt projections are based on current spending obligations. That means new spending from Congress without offsetting tax increases or spending cuts will accelerate that growth of the debt beyond those projections.

“After jumping from $352 billion in Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 to $475 billion in 2022, annual net interest outlays will triple, reaching $1.4 trillion by 2033,” the CRFB said. “As a share of the economy, net interest will rise from 1.9 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in FY 2022 to exceed its record as a share of GDP – 3.2 percent set in 1991 – by 2030 before reaching a high of 3.6 percent of GDP by 2033.”

CRFB said the cost of interest on the national debt will soon surpass entitlement spending if nothing changes.

“Unfortunately, the decades to follow 2033 are projected to be in even worse fiscal shape. With deficits continuing to grow unsustainably over time, interest on debt will eventually become the largest part of the federal budget,” the group said. “Net interest will surpass defense spending by 2028, Medicare spending by 2044, and Social Security spending by 2050, becoming the largest single line item in the budget. By 2053, net interest will consume approximately 7.2 percent of GDP – nearly 40 percent of federal revenues.”


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: debt; interestpayments; nationaldebt

1 posted on 03/14/2023 9:21:32 AM PDT by george76
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To: george76
I never trust anything the CBO says. By their own rules, they can't do calculations and research on their own. They have to do calculations based on whatever parameters are requested they use by the one making the request.

For example, that's why a Republican can ask the CBO about a tax cutting law and the "official" report will be that it'll bring in more government revenue. This is because the Republican demands the CBO honor the Laffer Curve in its calculations.

Then a Democrat will get the CBO to provide an "official" report on the same law, but it'll say the law will reduce government revenue. This is because the Democrat will tell the CBO to not use a dynamic tax effect in its calculations, but use a static tax effect (pretend the Laffer Curve doesn't exist).

So anytime you read "according to the CBO", read it as "according to whoever asked the CBO".

2 posted on 03/14/2023 9:31:08 AM PDT by Tell It Right (1st Thessalonians 5:21 -- Put everything to the test, hold fast to that which is true.)
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To: george76

By “next decade,” they mean “in the next 1-2 years.”

The average duration of outstanding US debt is about 5 years. We are about 1 year into higher rates. Interest expense has already exploded from about $250 billion to $700 billion. So in the next two years, large amounts of debt will be rolling over at MUCH higher rates.


3 posted on 03/14/2023 9:35:48 AM PDT by PGR88
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To: george76

Obozo/Biden White House is taking America down and rapidly.


4 posted on 03/14/2023 9:37:47 AM PDT by chopperk ( )
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To: Tell It Right
They have to do calculations based on whatever parameters are requested they use by the one making the request.

As a side note, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (UN IPCC) operates exactly the same way. They can ONLY make predictions basis "climate estimates" officially submitted to them by member governments.

So when you see an MSM news report saying "UN IPCC Scientists say" - you can immediately know its highly political bullsh**.

5 posted on 03/14/2023 9:39:35 AM PDT by PGR88
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To: george76
The United States will not default on its debt. So that really leaves only one way out. We’ll inflate our way out. Fire up the printing presses and pay back the debt with worthless paper. And no worries. After all, this method worked for Zimbabwe, right?


6 posted on 03/14/2023 9:45:34 AM PDT by Leaning Right (The steal is real.)
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To: george76

You can’t get to third-world status if you don’t do a debt repudiation.


7 posted on 03/14/2023 9:59:19 AM PDT by VanShuyten ("...that all the donkeys were dead. I know nothing as to the fate of the less valuable animals)
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To: VanShuyten

Answer is to inflate the dollar until its worthless paper with lots of zeros. Them pay back the loans with funny money. WE can all be Billionaires! Thats what Germany did to pay back WW I and the Allies. Simple. The lowest bill in the New Dollars will be a Thousand( with Harret Tubman on the Bill) then the ten Thousand (With MLK on the Bill) and the Fifty Thousand (with Obama) and the One Million (with Harvey Milk)


8 posted on 03/14/2023 10:11:31 AM PDT by Forward the Light Brigade ( Ride to the sound of the Guns!)
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To: Tell It Right

China and Russia owe us over 1 trillion each. We need to get that back and put it towards the debt as well as other countries who owe us money. That would help us big time. Plus we need debt relief from those countries we owe. We could put a huge dent into the debt by just those two measures. We’d be in great shape then. Why must we come up with simple solutions? Congress doesn’t even know this stuff.


9 posted on 03/14/2023 11:44:25 AM PDT by napscoordinator (DeSantis is a beast! Florida is the freest state in the country! )
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To: napscoordinator
China and Russia owe us over 1 trillion each. We need to get that back and put it towards the debt as well as other countries who owe us money.

I don't know about Russia, but the problem with your plan regarding the Chinese debt is exactly who the "us" is that China owes. It's not the US government. It's American citizens (really their heirs since the original treasury purchasers are now long dead) who China owes unpaid debt on old Chinese "railroad" bonds. With the interest it's about $1.6 trillion, about as much in American bonds that the Chinese government owes.

China hasn't paid a penny on that debt in well over half a century. They're defaulted on that debt. The Iron Lady got China to pay their debts to English treasury holders (as part of the Hong Kong deal).

10 posted on 03/14/2023 12:18:16 PM PDT by Tell It Right (1st Thessalonians 5:21 -- Put everything to the test, hold fast to that which is true.)
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To: Leaning Right

Biden bucks at a bank near you


11 posted on 03/14/2023 2:07:19 PM PDT by Vaduz (LAWYERS )
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