Government debt is on track to hit historically high levels and, at at its current growth rate, will by 2028 be nearly equal in size to the U.S. economy, the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday.
By the end of this year, the ratio of federal debt to America’s Gross Domestic Product will reach 78 percent, according to CBO — the highest ratio since 1950, CBO said.
By 2028, it is projected to reach 96 percent — and then surpass its historic high of 106 percent in 1946 reached during World War II.
The CBO’s estimates of debt to GDP are revised slightly downward from last year, although the nonpartisan agency continues to warn that spending is rising at an unsustainable level.
“Federal debt as a percentage of GDP would reach unprecedented levels” under current policy, the CBO report says. “Federal debt held by the public has ballooned over the past decade.”
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