Written by Brett Rowland (The Center Square)
The federal government borrowed $1.9 trillion in the first 11 months of fiscal 2024, including $380 billion in August. That’s a staggering amount as federal regulators sound the alarm about spending.
The borrowing figures are from the most recent figures. Monthly Financial Statements At the Treasury Department.
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Maya McGinnis, chairwoman of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said about $6 billion a day was borrowed this fiscal year.
“America is going to have enormous fiscal challenges in the near future. Next year, we’ll have to deal with the multitrillion-dollar extension of the 2017 tax cuts, raising the debt ceiling, and the expiration of the discretionary spending cap,” she said. “In just three years, our national debt will be a larger share of the economy than at any time in history. And in less than a decade, the Social Security trust fund will be insolvent, with beneficiaries facing automatic, across-the-board cuts with no action.”
She said it was time for former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris to dig into the issue.
“Given these pressing deadlines, it is more important than ever that the presidential candidates take seriously the threat posed by high and growing debt and deficits,” MacGuineas said. “But the debate earlier this week was another opportunity for fiscal clarity, and it fell through. Instead, we heard far more about what the candidates proposed for new spending and tax cuts than how they would pay for them.”
She said candidates need to have a plan.
“Both elected officials and candidates for our nation’s highest office must commit to a concrete path forward to reducing the deficit, and only then will a more responsible federal budget become a reality,” she said.
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The Congressional Research Service has sounded similar alarms. In February, the congressional watchdog told President Joe Biden and Congress that the federal government was on an “unsustainable long-term fiscal path.” A report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office said federal spending levels could not be sustained in the long term.
“The federal government is on an unsustainable long-term fiscal path,” according to a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. “We project that the debt held by the public as a share of the economy will more than double over the next 30 years and will grow faster than the economy over the long term if current revenue and spending policies remain unchanged.”
U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro said Congress must take action.
“Congress and the administration must act to get the country off the untenable long-term fiscal path on which it is currently operating,” said Dodaro, who leads GAO. “The federal debt level is growing at a rate that could threaten the vitality of our nation’s economy and the safety and well-being of the American people. Both spending and revenue issues must be addressed as part of a comprehensive, long-term plan.”
Jointly published with permission At Center Square.
