Feds Borrowed $4 Billion Per Day In 2022 -$10K Per Household

By Casey Harper (The Center Square).

The federal debt rose by $1.4 trillion after President Joe Biden approved several spending packages.

The Congressional Budget Office published the final details on federal spending in 2022. They showed that there was a $1.4 trillion deficit for the federal government last year and that it borrowed $82 billion in December. 

“This is not a pretty picture no matter how you look at it,” Maya MacGuineas, president and CEO of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. “There are times to borrow – like during a pandemic or major recession – and there are times where we should ratchet down the borrowing, like now when the economy is strong and inflation is hot.”

MacGuineas pointed out last year’s borrowing totals more than $10,000 per household and $4 billion per day.

In the fall, the federal debt reached $31 trillion. 

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Biden’s additional spending bills, which totaled several trillion dollars, were partly responsible for the increased debt. Although the initial spending bill received wide support due to the pandemic, it was later resisted by Republicans.

Biden claimed that the deficit would be reduced from $2.8 trillion last year to $1.4 trillion. However, that number is still higher than when Biden was elected. In 2019, the deficit in the budget was less than one billion dollars.

“We need a fresh start in 2023 for how we budget, spend, and borrow,” MacGuineas stated. “Members of Congress who are serious about the fiscal health of the nation should commit to passing a budget, not engaging in new borrowing, and coming up with a reasonable package of savings to help bring our debt down.”

The future of the deficit and debt looks grim if there are no changes. The Congressional Budget Office released its economic outlook for the next decade last summer and projected record high debt levels compared to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.

“CBO projects that the federal budget deficit will shrink to $1.0 trillion in 2022 (it was $2.8 trillion last year) and that the annual shortfall would average $1.6 trillion from 2023 to 2032,” CBO. “The deficit continues to decrease as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) next year as spending related to the coronavirus pandemic wanes, but then deficits increase, reaching 6.1 percent of GDP in 2032. The deficit has been greater than that only six times since 1946.”

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Syndicated with permission of The Center Square