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Credit: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

By Casey Harper (The Center Square)

The U.S. annual deficit is nearing $2 trillion for this fiscal year, almost double the record deficits before the COVID-19 pandemic, as federal borrowing hit more than $5 billion per day.

The U.S. Congressional Budget Office reported that the federal deficit hit an estimated $1.8 billion in fiscal year 2024, $139 billion higher than the deficit from the previous fiscal year.

The troubling deficit news comes as the national debt continues to soar, drawing closer to $36 trillion.

“Within the next dozen years, three major trust funds – for highways, Medicare, and Social Security – will run out of reserves, forcing us to reckon with even tougher decisions on how to keep important government priorities afloat,” Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said in a statement.

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Notably, the increased debt came even though federal revenue increased by 11%, or $479 billion, according to CBO.

“Revenues in all major categories, but notably individual income taxes, were greater than they were in fiscal year 2023,” CBO said in its report

Recent analyses of the respective presidential candidates’ tax plans show they would both add to the national debt. A slew of polls in recent years shows that inflation, driven in part by debt spending, is a top concern for Americans. 

MacGuineas said the situation could get even worse next year.

“In 2025, lawmakers will face new hurdles,” she said. “Not only rising deficits, debt and interest, but also the reinstatement of the debt ceiling, the end of the Fiscal Responsibility Act’s budget caps, and major tax and spending expirations. 

Syndicated with permission from The Center Square.