The U.S. national debt is climbing at a rapid pace and has shown no signs of slowing down, despite the growing criticism of massive levels of government spending.
The national debt — which measures what the U.S. owes its creditors — fell to $35,331,161,690,593.41 as of September 10th, according to the latest numbers published by the Treasury Department. That is down about $15.5 billion from the figure reported the previous day.
By comparison, just four decades ago, the national debt hovered around $907 billion.
The outlook for the federal debt level is bleak, with economists increasingly sounding the alarm over the torrid pace of spending by Congress and the White House. Interest payments on the debt for the government's fiscal year, which begins in October, now exceed the costs of Medicare and the defense budget.
The latest findings from the Congressional Budget Office indicate that the national debt will grow to an astonishing $54 trillion in the next decade, the result of an aging population and fishing federal health care costs. Higher interest rates are also compounding the pain of higher debt.
Should that debt materialize, it could risk America's economic standing in the world.
"America’s fiscal outlook is more dangerous and daunting than ever, threatening our economy and the next generation," said Michael Peterson, the CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation that advocates for reducing the federal deficit. "This is not the future any of us want, and it’s no way to run a great nation like ours."