This is Washington Edition, the newsletter about money, power and politics in the nation’s capital. Today, economy reporter Jarrell Dillard looks at the growing national debt. Sign up here and follow us at @bpolitics. Email our editors here.

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America has a debt problem. And it’s not getting much attention from the contenders for the White House.

There is $27.8 trillion in debt held by the public. And this year the US is expected to run one of the largest deficits in history, which will only make the debt bigger.

Though everyone knows that spending on entitlement programs, including Social Security, is a big part of the problem, the 2024 presidential nominees are tiptoeing around the issue on the campaign trail. They’ve barely mentioned the deficit, much less offered any substantive solutions.

Spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid could reach 10.3% of gross domestic product in 2024, according to projections from the Office of Management and Budget. That compares with an 8.2% average between 1984 and 2023.

  • morphballganon@lemmy.world
    71·
    5 months ago

    Good thing we have history to examine, eh? Republicans always exacerbate the debt, and Democrats always lessen it.

    Meeting adjourned.