U.S. Must Borrow Another $5,240 Per Household Just to Fund Gov't at Current Level

July 11th, 2011 3:42 PM

President Barack Obama and congressional leaders seeking to negotiate a deal to increase the legal limit on the federal government's debt, would need to agree to increase that debt by $615.865 billion between now and Sept. 30, just to keep the government going at current spending levels, according to the CBO's latest estimate of the fiscal 2011 deficit and the Treasury Department's latest accounting of the federal debt.

Given that the Census Bureau estimates there are now 117,538,000 households in the United States that means the federal government must borrow an additional $5,239.71 per American household just to maintain the current federal spending level through Sept. 30.

The $615.865 billion in new debt needed between now and Sept. 30 (the last day of fiscal 2011) will decrease only to the degree that Obama and Boehner and the other congressional leaders agree to cut near-term federal spending that is scheduled to take place between now and Sept. 30.

Whatever cuts the president and congressional leaders agree to make two or three years from now—when many of them may no longer be in elective office—will have no impact on the amount of money the Treasury will be forced to borrow in the remaining 82 days of this fiscal year.

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