National Debt & Interest Payments For Fiscal 2008

Treasury Direct has interesting charts of Interest Expense On Debt Outstanding.


Click on chart for crisper image.
Click here to refresh the current total of Debt Outstanding.

The Interest Expense on the Debt Outstanding includes the monthly interest for:

• U.S. Treasury notes and bonds
• Foreign and domestic series certificates of indebtedness, notes and bonds
• Savings bonds
• Government Account Series (GAS)
• State and Local Government series (SLGs) and other special purpose securities.

Interest Expense for Fiscal 2008


Click on chart for crisper image.

The interest expense for December alone was a whopping $106 billion.
Using a three month average, Federal expenses just on interest is $615 billion.

Historical Data



Click on chart for sharper image.

Can the government get long term rates down to 1-2% to make this much more manageable?
Tip of the hat to "Minyan Jim" for sending me the link.

Comments

[ballsschweaty]

Hey Mish, food prices are soaring, gold is nearing $900, gasoline is heading to $4/gallon. Great call on Deflation. You've been screaming it now for years.

Do you ever admit when you're wrong?

[Brian Croner]

Half a trill on interest? Yikes. I was right about the US Government required to draw on foreign loans and inflate the money supply to make interest on total loans. Not quite the capital my equity is worthy of.

[Arno]

Also check out a great article on how to interpret the 2 components of the national debt - debt held by the public and intragovernmental holdings:
www.geldpress.com/2008.../

[zncus]

Democrats are tax and spend. Republicans are borrow and spend. Of the two repulsive habits, I much prefere the tax and spend method. That way, I am constantly aware of how much money the goverment is stealing from me.