Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Can You Believe It? National Debt Now $22 Trillion.
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
February 13, 2019

Share

WASHINGTON — The national debt has passed a milestone, topping $22 trillion for the first time.
The Treasury Department’s daily statement showed Tuesday that total outstanding public debt stands at $22.01 trillion. It stood at $19.95 trillion when President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, 2017.

The debt figure has been accelerating since the passage of Trump’s $1.5 trillion tax cut in December 2017 and action by Congress last year to increase spending on domestic and military programs.
The debt figure has been accelerating since the passage of Trump’s $1.5 trillion tax cut in December 2017 and action by Congress last year to increase spending on domestic and military programs.
The national debt is the total of the annual budget deficits. The Congressional Budget Office projects that this year’s deficit will be $897 billion — a 15.1 percent increase over last year’s imbalance of $779 billion. In the coming years, the CBO forecasts that the deficit will keep rising, top $1 trillion annually beginning in 2022 and never drop below $1 trillion through 2029. Much of the increase will come from mounting costs to fund Social Security and Medicare as the vast generation of baby boomers continue to retire.
The Trump administration contends that its tax cuts will eventually pay for themselves by generating faster economic growth. That projection is disputed by many economists.
Despite the rising levels of federal debt, many economists say they think the risks remain slight and point to current interest rates, which remain unusually low by historical standards. Still, some budget experts warn that ever-rising federal debt poses substantial risks for the government because it could make it harder to respond to a financial crisis through tax cuts or spending increases.
Michael Peterson, head of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, says “our growing national debt matters because it threatens the economic future of every American.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Seek Help Identifying 7-Eleven Robbery Suspects

DON'T MISS

Fresno Council Scraps Cannabis Advisory Group, Extends Advance Peace Funding

DON'T MISS

Buss Family to Sell Lakers at $10 Billion Valuation, ESPN Says

DON'T MISS

Massive Security Breach: 16 Billion Passwords Leaked From Apple, Google, Facebook Accounts

DON'T MISS

‘I’m an American, Bro!’: Latinos Report Raids in Which US Citizenship Is Questioned

DON'T MISS

Florida Congresswoman to Revive Bipartisan Immigration Bill. Valley Leaders Join the Push

DON'T MISS

LA Dodgers Say They Denied ICE Agents Access to Stadium Parking Lot

DON'T MISS

Netanyahu Says Fall of Iran’s Leadership Not a Goal but Could Be a Result

DON'T MISS

Hunger Strike Begins as California Prisons Hand Down Biggest Restrictions Since COVID

DON'T MISS

Sen. Alex Padilla: This Is How an Administration Acts When It’s Afraid

UP NEXT

Hunger Strike Begins as California Prisons Hand Down Biggest Restrictions Since COVID

UP NEXT

Musk Shares Negative Drug Test Results, Challenges Media Outlets

UP NEXT

Hurricane Erick Threatens Mexico’s Pacific Coast, Rapid Strengthening Expected

UP NEXT

More US Officials Face Threats as Fears Grow Over Political Violence

UP NEXT

Protester Killed at Utah ‘No Kings’ Rally Was Fashion Designer From ‘Project Runway’

UP NEXT

‘We Will Kill You Dead’: Florida Sheriff’s Stark Warning to Demonstrators

UP NEXT

Here’s What to Expect at the Army’s 250th Anniversary Parade on Trump’s Birthday

UP NEXT

US House Passes Trump Cuts of $9.4 Billion for Foreign Aid, Broadcasting

UP NEXT

Tulare County Inmate Found Unresponsive in Cell, Autopsy Pending

UP NEXT

Harvey Weinstein Convicted of Sex Crime Amid Contentious Jury Deliberations

Visalia Stabbing Sends Man to Hospital, Police Investigating

27 minutes ago

Wall Street Perks Up, Oil Dips After Trump’s Middle East Delay

27 minutes ago

Police, DA Refuse to Release Records on Latina Senator’s DUI Arrest Near Capitol

45 minutes ago

US Supreme Court Upholds Law on Suing Palestinian Authorities Over Attacks

57 minutes ago

Pro-Palestinian Activists Damage Planes at UK Military Base

1 hour ago

Israeli Scientists Scramble to Save Work After Iranian Missile Hits Labs

1 hour ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Versall Johnson Henderson

1 hour ago

Suspected DUI Driver Crashes Into Yard Then Falls Asleep on Patrol Car

1 hour ago

Visalia Police Investigate Assault at Local Bar

2 hours ago

What Are the Nuclear Contamination Risks From Israel’s Attacks on Iran?

2 hours ago

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Get a 400% Pay Raise

In what amounts to the biggest reveal of the second season of the Netflix docuseries “America’s Sweethearts,” the Dallas C...

8 minutes ago

8 minutes ago

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Get a 400% Pay Raise

12 minutes ago

Marijuana’s Links to Heart Attack and Stroke Are Becoming Clearer

17 minutes ago

‘Little Lobbyists’ Urge Senators to Oppose Trump’s Bill Cutting Medicaid

27 minutes ago

Visalia Stabbing Sends Man to Hospital, Police Investigating

27 minutes ago

Wall Street Perks Up, Oil Dips After Trump’s Middle East Delay

45 minutes ago

Police, DA Refuse to Release Records on Latina Senator’s DUI Arrest Near Capitol

57 minutes ago

US Supreme Court Upholds Law on Suing Palestinian Authorities Over Attacks

1 hour ago

Pro-Palestinian Activists Damage Planes at UK Military Base

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend