William Brangham:
Since you started watching the “News Hour” tonight, our nation’s debt has grown by more than $140 million. Its total sum is $37 trillion. There’s mounting concern in some quarters over how soon that ballooning debt will impact the lives of everyday Americans.
As economics correspondent Paul Solman explains, simply paying the interest on that debt is already swallowing a larger portion of the federal budget.
Paul Solman:
Interest on the national debt paid to investors for lending the U.S. money. In return, they get U.S. government IOUs, treasuries, the interest rate on which tends to rise as we borrow ever more to cover the growing gap between expenses and revenues.
Phillip Swagel, Director, Congressional Budget Office:
When I look at our fiscal situation, the words that come to my mind are…
