America’s national debt is rising at a rapid rate.
The government’s FiscalData platform shows $116 billion has been added to the country’s total public debt since the start of August, bringing the grand total to $32.7 trillion.
The rise comes amid a fresh fiscal warning from the Heritage Foundation.
The conservative think tank’s EJ Antoni says that the soaring debt, along with its recent ratings downgrade from Fitch, should not be ignored.
“The downgrade by Fitch is not a big move in terms of overall rating, but it is significant. The drop from AAA to AA+ is still firmly in investment-grade territory, meaning the odds of default in the near term are still extremely unlikely, but it should not be ignored.
Debt is downgraded because the borrower is waving red flags. In the case of the U.S., we have over $32 trillion in debt and are currently adding trillions per year. Total annual interest payments alone on that much debt costs us about $1 trillion—more than the entire Defense budget—and spending keeps growing. That is a recipe for insolvency and eventual default.”
Antoni says Congressional action is needed to revamp America’s budget and avoid reaching a breaking point.
“Congress and the White House need to immediately get their financial house in order. If they don’t, we’ll be right back on the inflation roller coaster with more hidden defaults on U.S. debt.
That will mean even higher yields, which leads to higher interest payments, which means even faster growing debt, and so on—a veritable death spiral. Time is running out before we reach the point of no return.”
