Treasury Department data shows new milestone as government spending continues to soar
released by the Treasury Department, marking a new milestone as government spending and borrowing continues to surge.
The new record is for the government's total debt outstanding, which includes $23.487 trillion in debt held by the public and another $6.525 trillion in intra-government debt such as federal trust funds and other accounts. Spending by Congress was already increasing at a steady clip for years before the coronavirus sparked a borrowing surge of $5 trillion in pandemic relief that exacerbated the rate.
"$30 trillion in debt is an obscene number, but what's even more depressing is the fact that most politicians in both parties don't really care," Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said in a statement on the milestone. "Someone is going to have to pay that money when these politicians are long gone, and -- spoiler alert -- it won’t be paid by them but instead by our kids."
"Ignoring the debt won't solve the crisis, it will only make things worse," Sasse added. "We need to cut the budget-busting spending sprees and do real entitlement reform."