A growing national debt
Federal debts have grown due to persistent budget deficits. Simply put, when the government spends more money than it gains from tax revenue and other sources, there is a budget deficit. Such deficits add to the public debt as funds must be borrowed in order for all components of the budget to be covered.Public debt is also costly to the public, as interest payments absorb government resources that could otherwise be used for additional public services. A look at the interest expense on public debt in the United States shows that interest on public debt totaled 575 billion U.S. dollars in 2021. That is more than double the federally allocated funding for education and related programs.