Economics
U.S. Debt and Deficit Forecast to Hit Levels Not Seen Since WWII
- Deficit will exceed $3.8 trillion this year, budget group says
- Watchdog predicts debt to exceed 100% of entire economy
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The U.S. federal budget deficit is on track to exceed $3.8 trillion this year even if Congress doesn’t enact any more stimulus spending, and the nation’s debt will rise to levels not seen since the country emerged from World War II, a non-partisan budget watchdog estimated Monday.
The projection by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget would put the shortfall between revenue and spending at nearly four times the $984 billion deficit for fiscal 2019. That represents 18.7% of the economy, the highest since 1945. By the Oct. 1 start of fiscal 2021, the group projects the U.S. debt held by the public will be greater than the size of the $21 trillion U.S. economy and will exceed the record set after the war by 2023.