U.S. Faces Nearly $1 Trillion in Interest Payments as National Debt Soars

The U.S. government recently allocated nearly $1 trillion just to cover the interest on its escalating national debt.

According to data from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the federal budget deficit for the 2024 fiscal year, which concluded on September 30, reached about $1.8 trillion.

Last year, the government brought in $4.918 trillion in revenue while its total spending amounted to $6.752 trillion. Interest payments on the national debt emerged as the second-largest federal expense, surpassed only by the roughly $1.448 trillion designated for Social Security.

The announcement of the sizable budget deficit comes amid a surge in the national debt, which has now reached $35.693 trillion. Adam Kobeissi, editor of The Kobeissi Letter, points out that the growth in public debt is far outpacing the expansion of the economy.

In just a three-day span, the debt climbed by $345 billion, setting a new record of $35.7 trillion. Since June 2023, federal debt has increased by $4 trillion, or 14%, while the U.S. GDP has grown by only $1.5 trillion, or about 6%, meaning that debt growth has outstripped economic growth by 2.7 times.