US government debt to pass 100 per cent of GDP in 2021
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A February 2019 photo shows the National Debt Clock in New York City.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The mountain of US government debt, swelled by rising deficit spending to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, will surpass the size of the American economy next year, according to new estimates published on Wednesday (Sept 2).
The deficit will increase to 107 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2023, "the highest in the nation's history," surpassing the previous peak in 1946 after World War II, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
The nonpartisan CBO said its updated forecasts project that by 2030, the debt would equal 109 per cent of GDP.
The budget deficit this year is expected to triple to US$3.3 trillion (S$4.5 trillion), or 16 per cent of GDP - the largest since 1945.
