NEW YORK — Michael A. Peterson, Chairman and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, commented today on the release of the 2018 Long-Term Budget Outlook by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO):
“Today’s report confirms that our nation’s fiscal outlook is on a dangerous and unsustainable path. With substantial imbalances between spending and revenues projected well into the future, we are on course to burden America’s children with trillions more in debt and hurt their economic opportunities. The debt outlook would be even more dire if lawmakers extend the tax cuts and higher spending levels that were enacted in recent months.
“CBO’s report is filled with sobering projections that should be an urgent wakeup call for the Administration and Congress. Annual budget deficits are on track to eclipse $1 trillion in just two years, and continue growing as far as the eye can see. Our overall debt will rise to 152% of GDP over the next three decades, nearly doubling today’s level and far surpassing the highest level in American history. As the nation continues to borrow and sink deeper in debt, interest has become the fastest growing category in the budget.
“This new report should motivate policymakers to pay for their priorities and act on the many available solutions to secure our collective future.”
In its new report, CBO projects: