US borrowing nearly $5B a day as deficit hits $1.2T for first eight months of fiscal 2024

The U.S. government is borrowing $4.9 billion each day on average, driving the deficit for the first 8 months of this current fiscal year to $1.2 trillion, according to the latest data from the Congressional Budget Office. 

"With little surprise, our economic challenges have continued to mount with our debt only four years away from reaching a record share of the economy and interest costs soaring past our defense budget this year," Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said in an analysis published on Monday.

"The Social Security retirement trust fund is still on track to face insolvency in less than a decade with Medicare not far behind. Without changes, retirees will be facing potential across-the-board cuts to their benefits," she also said.

MacGuineas said that "rising interest rates, persistent inflation, and looming trust fund insolvency" demonstrates that "there is much more to be done to correct" the nation's fiscal path.

"The first step is putting a stop to any new borrowing and working together to reduce the deficit. Our fiscal house is barreling down an unsustainable path and we must act fast before tomorrow's problems become today’s," she said.

In FY2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in Congress passing several economic stimulus bills, the deficit was $984 billion.