Projections from the Congressional Budget Office show Washington racking up an additional $20.2 trillion in debt over the next decade.  That would put the national debt somewhere around $54 trillion.

The national debt, which is the accumulation of annual budget deficits, is growing at a rate of roughly $2 trillion per year.  Much of this debt is needed to make good on mandatory outlays like social security, medicare, and health spending.  Some of the debt covers discretionary spending such as defense and transportation.

There’s also net interest on debt.  This recently topped $1 trillion a year for the first time ever.  Washington is essentially borrowing money to pay the interest on the debt.  This is no way to run a country.

These projections – the $2 trillion per year deficits – generally assume everything remains status quo.  That real gross domestic product increases at an annual rate of 2.4 percent.  And that there are no new wars, pandemics, or other freedom inhibiting crisis events – whether intentional or not – that would blow these budget projections out of the water. Continue reading →