The United States has long had the world’s biggest defense budget, with spending this year set to approach $900 billion.
Yet this spending is rapidly being eclipsed by the fastest-growing portion of federal outflows: interest payments on the national debt.
For the first seven months of fiscal year 2024, which began last October, net interest payments totaled $514 billion, outpacing defense by $20 billion. Budget analysts think that trend will continue, making 2024 the first year ever that the United States will spend more on interest payments than on national defense.
Rick Newman | Yahoo Finance