‘Interest’ing Number
The U.S. Treasury is the 3rd largest expense in our nation’s budget. It trails
only national defense and entitlement programs. Within the treasury
expenditure is the $360 billion paid on the national debt (currently at
$16.8 trillion dollars). When we have annual deficits, the overage is
added to the debt which raises this interest number even more.
Compare this payment to the annual costs to the Departments of:
- Labor ($105 billion)
- Transportation ($75 billion)
- Energy ($57 billion)
NASA, which represented funded our yearning to explore the heavens has been
relegated to category of ‘wasteful spending’. Fortunately, the private
sector is beginning to pick up the slack and yet the annual cost of NASA
is $18 billion – 5% of what we spend for interest on the national debt.
Americans need to be better educated on these bigger numbers. The current track is not
sustainable.
Mark Schuster, Partner
June 25, 2013
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