During this evening's State of the Union address, we expect to hear the President discuss his plan for creating jobs and strengthening the economy, among a number of other issues affecting Americans in the year ahead. NTUF took a look back at recent trends in overall government spending in order to provide some context as lawmakers discuss the 2013 budget.
According to this NBC News article from 2007:
"Like a ticking time bomb, the national debt is an explosion waiting to happen. It's expanding by about $1.4 billion per day -- or nearly $1 million a minute. ... [The national debt] stands at a mind-numbing $9.13 trillion."
Although those figures are staggering, for those tracking recent developments in government spending, they look somewhat quaint. The Congressional Budget Office recently announced that it expects the deficit for fiscal year 2013 to be around $845 billion. That means the debt will grow this year by about $2.3 billion per day, or nearly $1.6 million per minute. The national debt, as of the time of this post, stands at $16.5 trillion. These figures reflect a deficit that's smaller than it's been in any of the past 5 years.
Other recent debt growth rates:
- Fiscal Year 2012: Deficit was $1.1 trillion, equating to a debt expansion of $3 billion per day ($2.1 million per minute)
- Fiscal Year 2011: Deficit was $1.3 trillion, equating to a debt expansion of $3.56 billion per day ($2.5 million per minute)
- Fiscal Year 2010: Deficit was $1.29 trillion, equating to a debt expansion of $3.53 billion per day ($2.45 million per minute)
NTUF will be following the President's State of the Union Address this evening to let taxpayers know how the policies he proposes might affect the federal budget going forward. Be sure to join us tonight and be part of the conversation.