As previously noted, the government debt skyrocketed $339 billion the first day after the debt ceiling was lifted via the spending deal. Now, after 10 days (Nov 12), the total new debt has reached $462 billion.
The initial spike was the result of replenishing the funds that have been total new debt”>”frozen”. “The government began bumping up against the debt limit in March and was borrowing from other funds — using “extraordinary measures” — to keep from breaching the $18.1 trillion level. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew was able to stretch that borrowing through the end of October.”
The $339 one-day splurge was the greatest Treasury jump ever recorded, but still comparable to actions in recent years. In August 2011, after a negotiation was reached, the Treasury debt increased $238 billion on one day; likewise, in 2013 in a similar scenario, the debt rose $328 billion on one day.
Of what does the $339 consist? “About $199 billion is public debt, which is money borrowed from outside sources, and $140 billion is borrowing from within government accounts. As of Monday, the gross total debt stood at $18.6 trillion, with $13.4 trillion of that public debt borrowed from the outside.”
By the end of Obama’s presidency, government debt is projected to be about $20 trillion — nearly double that which existed when Obama became President ($10.6 trillion). Already, the government is running a deficit. 1 month in to the fiscal year (beginning October 1), spending exceeded revenues by $136 billion. “up 12 percent compared with the previous October, as spending ballooned and taxes remained nearly flat. It was the worst October since 2010, when the government was still spending on the stimulus and was on pace for a deficit of more than $1 trillion that year.”
The situation looks mighty bleak right now.