Deficit reaches $1.5 trillion in just 10 months, U.S. spending $5 billion per day

The U.S. deficit is on the rise, reaching $1.5 trillion with 2 months to go in the fiscal year 2024.

The U.S. borrowed $242 billion in July alone, according to the latest Congressional Budget Office data.

 

"We’re nearly at the end of fiscal year 2024, and while most of America is focused on the momentum in the race for the White House, beneath the surface our nation’s fiscal health has continued to worsen. We’ve just surpassed $35 trillion in gross debt, and today’s CBO projections estimate we’ve borrowed another $242 billion in July, or $5 billion each day this fiscal year," said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

 

"Regardless of who wins this November, the next president will have to confront a laundry list of fiscal decisions shortly into their term, including trillions in expiring tax provisions, a debt ceiling that will need to be raised or suspended, expiring spending caps, and major trust funds edging ever close to insolvency. These decisions will have lasting impacts beyond the next four years, whether we choose to address them thoughtfully and responsibly, or whether we choose to continue down the path of careless indifference," she added.

 

MacGuineas argued that the current fiscal trajectory "cannot be left on autopilot" as interest costs on the debt are on track to "exceed our defense and Medicare budgets."