Watch US debt forecasts go from ↘️ to ➡️ to ↗️
Debt held by the public has consistently been higher than where the experts expected it to be over the last 20 years
Time to focus on debt and deficits? Probably, as Slow Boring puts it: It’s the right time for austerity. The President’s latest budget proposal seeks to lower debt by $3 trillion over the next 10 years, and focuses mainly on the revenue side. In 2025, major elements of the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act expire (which added roughly $1.5 trillion in debt), and that is great time to implement some major tax reforms. Revenue is definitely important, but we will need to tackle debt by improving efficiency and productivity across the government.
The thing that worries most economists about debt is that interest payments become unmanageable. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the US is already spending more on interest than on the Medicaid program.
Try out some debt reduction interactive tools:
Fix the Debt (Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget)
Interactive Tool: Options to Reduce the National Debt (Penn Wharton Budget Model)