As the debt ceiling limit fast approaches, the business of the US government has become more about avoiding catastrophe than constructive policy-making, reported The Hill on Monday.
“As one of the richest countries in the world by a variety of economic and social measures, we are poor in managing our nation’s wealth and infrastructure,” said the report. “The largest fiscal risk that our nation faces comes from the national debt.”
There is now nearly $32 trillion of national debt, with around 80% of it held by the public, it said, noting the problem is that the national debt is continuing to grow, with no feasible path forward to slow its growth, let alone pay it down.
“Each year’s budget deficit is added to the tab,” said the report. “Higher interest rates are further exacerbating the situation, with the Congressional Budget Office projecting such costs to be $640bn in 2023 — not that much less than the Department of Defense’s $816bn dollars budget for fiscal 2023.”
Moving the debt ceiling higher merely “kicks the can down the road” until the newly established debt ceiling is approached. Whether it takes a few months or even a few years, the new debt ceiling will never be enough, it added.
