Washington D.C. – The United States national debt stood at $21.974 trillion dollars at the end of 2018, more than $2 trillion higher than when Donald Trump took office, according to numbers released Thursday by the Treasury Department.
National debt has been expanding at an augmented rate after the outcome of 2008 financial crisis, when Congress and the Obama administration approved incentives funding in order to keep the economy afloat.
The debt began to level off at the beginning of Trump’s term, but bounced up again last year as the tax cuts passed at the end of 2017 took effect and the intensely lower corporate tax rate lowered Treasury revenues.
As a candidate, Trump promised to “get rid of” the national debt, telling The Washington Post in 2016 that he could make the US debt-free “over a period of eight years.”
Debt Subject to Limit
Interest Expense and Average Interest Rate Graph
Summary Schedules of Federal Debt – Daily, Unaudited
According to the Congressional Budget Office, total public debt stood at 78% of America’s gross domestic product in fiscal year 2018, the highest percentage since 1950. The deficit or the difference between what the government spends and what it takes in over any one year — jumped to 3.8% of GDP in 2018, up from 3.5% in 2017.
That’s mostly uncommon in such a strong economy without major new expenditures. If no changes are made, the CBO projects that public debt will rise to 96% of GDP by 2028. A big chunk of that — $1.9 trillion between 2018 and 2028 — will be due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the CBO reported last April.
A congressionally-imposed cap on national debt kicks back in on March 2. According to an analysis by the Bipartisan Policy Center, the Treasury will be able to finance the government’s operations until at least mid-summer by moving money around from different pots.
Source. US Treasury Department.
The Yucatan Times
Newsroom
