Report Underscores Financial Horrors Courtesy of Bipartisan Spending Binge

There are a number of superlatives that can be applied to federal spending, deficits and debt – none of them good. How can they be when Congress and the White House have been on a bipartisan spending bender for the last two decades.

But explaining Washington's spending binge during and after the COVID-19 pandemic strains even the best thesaurus. Consider this report from the Peter G. Peterson Foundation highlighting some federal financial data horrors from the Congressional Budget Office. The whole report is worth reading, but here's the note about interest payments on the federal debt:

Interest costs on the national debt are projected to rise to the highest level ever recorded in 2032. Relative to the size of the economy, such costs would double over the next decade — rising from 1.6 percent of GDP in 2022 to 3.3 percent in 2032. In total, interest costs would be $8.1 trillion over the next decade, the highest amount in any 10-year period to date. That growth is largely due to rising interest rates and an accumulation of federal debt.

Not bad enough for you? How about this, on mandatory spending:

Spending on mandatory programs in 2022, relative to the size of the economy, will reach its third-highest level in recorded history. Spending on programs governed by permanent law (such as Social Security and Medicare) is projected to total 15.2 percent of GDP this year; the only other time such outlays exceeded that level was in 2020 and 2021, during the pandemic. Such outlays are projected to average 14.1 percent of GDP over the next decade, notably higher than their 50-year average of 10.7 percent.

What else is reaching nosebleed levels? Government tax receipts:

Total revenues will reach a 20-year high this year and remain above their 50-year average throughout the next decade. CBO projects that federal revenues in 2022 will rise by nearly $800 billion, or 19 percent, over last year — the largest percentage increase in nearly 40 years. Total revenues are projected to reach 19.6 percent of GDP this year, their highest level in two decades, and remain above their 50-year historical average of 17.3 percent throughout the next decade.

The bottom line is Uncle Sam doesn't have a revenue problem. The problem has always been spending. It doesn't matter if the pols are on Team Red or Team Blue – when it comes to writing checks on the taxpayers' account, the majorities have always been on Team Debt. And that won't change until either voters demand change or markets enforce it.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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