‘Nothing short of self-sabotage’: Watchdog warns about national debt setting new record in just 4 years

The United States is on a collision course with its own history, and about to break fiscal records in the worst possible way. With current policies and spending, the country’s national debt will surge to 120% of GDP by 2030, eclipsing the previous record of 106% set right after World War II. Fiscal watchdogs are warning that such high levels of debt effectively amount to a self-inflicted wound, as the U.S. abdicates its responsibility to its citizens, sustainable economic growth, and national security.

The U.S. is currently sitting on a federal budget deficit of $1.9 trillion and a national debt worth 101% of GDP, according to an economic outlook report released Wednesday by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). In 10 years, that number will rise to 120%, but it will take just four years to beat the current high-water mark set in 1946, after years of massive deficit spending to finance U.S. efforts during World War II.

The projections have drawn blistering reactions from nonpartisan watchdogs, perhaps none more so than Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. 

“There are no surprises here or bright spots of encouraging news: Our nation’s deficits, debt, interest payments, and trust funds are all in terrible shape,” MacGuineas said in a stat...