Spending on safety net programs such as Social Security and Medicare continues to grow even as their trust funds face the prospect of being depleted in the next 10 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso boosting deficits are two underlying trends: the aging of the population and growth in federal health care costs per beneficiary,\u201d Mr. Swagel said. \u201cThose trends put upward pressure on mandatory spending.\u201d<\/p>\n
The national debt is likely to be even larger than the budget office is predicting, as its forecast assumes that the 2017 tax cuts that Republicans enacted will fully expire even though lawmakers are already considering extending many of the measures, including lower individual income tax brackets.<\/p>\n
For the second time in less than a year, the budget office said it now expected Mr. Biden\u2019s efforts to wean the nation from fossil fuels to be more popular with the public \u2014 and more expensive for taxpayers \u2014 than initially estimated.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n New: U.S. Debt on Pace to Top $54 Trillion Over Next 10 Years w\/ @jimtankersley<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/VZ9wDWn5l2<\/a><\/p>\n — Alan Rappeport (@arappeport) February 7, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n