Forbes: U.S. National Debt Is Growing Rapidly

Article by Niall McCarthy in Forbes

Last week, congressional budget experts warned that the Trump administration's trade war is impacting the U.S. economy and cutting household income. The analysis was released last Wednesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and it projected that the federal budget deficit will reach $960 billion for the 2019 fiscal year before growing to $1 trillion in 2020. That's higher than the CBO's previous estimates of $896 billion for 2019 and $892 billion for 2020.

Debt held by the public as a percentage of GDP is also projected to rise rapidly over the coming decade. It currently stands at 79% and it's forecast to increase to 95% by 2029, its highest level since just after the Second World War.

Debt held by the public is all debt owed by the federal government to those outside the federal government including individuals, businesses, banks, insurance companies and foreign governments.

CBO Director Phillip Swagel stated that "the nation's fiscal outlook is challenging" before adding that "federal debt, which is already high by historical standards, is on an unsustainable course, projected to rise even higher after 2020 because of the aging of the population, growth in per capita spending on health care and rising interest costs".

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