America’s fiscal health, from the national debt to the budget deficit, is not a priority for the presidential candidates in this year’s election, say economists.
The national debt currently stands at $35.324 trillion, up by nearly $8 trillion from January 2021. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates it is poised to top $50 trillion in the next decade.
The federal deficit has climbed to $1.9 trillion in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year. The budget watchdog projects the annual shortfall will exceed $2 trillion by 2031.
These headline numbers are on top of the long-term unfunded obligations, including Social Security, which faces a permanent deficit of $63 trillion….