(NewsNation) — As the federal government’s gross national debt surpasses $34 trillion, an economist says America is paying $800 billion a year in interest payments alone.
“You know what else is about $800 billion a year? The entire defense budget is equal to the interest-only payments on our debt. I mean, this becomes insane,” Kirk Elliot, an economist, said on “NewsNation Now.”
The record-high debt foreshadows the coming political and economic challenges to improve America’s balance sheet in the coming years.
The U.S. Treasury Department issued a report Tuesday logging U.S. finances, which have become a source of tension in a politically divided Washington that could possibly see parts of the government shut down without an annual budget in place.
“It doesn’t matter who the president is,” said Elliot. “You look back, this has…
