CBO underscores need to address national debt

It was just one paragraph in a 182-page report, but it was arguably the most important.

Predictably, it received virtually no media attention.

The Congressional Budget office’s non-partisan study on “The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2014 to 2024” said that “the large budget deficits recorded in recent years have substantially increased federal debt, and the amount of debt relative to the size of the economy is now very high by historical standards.

“CBO estimates that federal debt held by the public will equal 74 percent of GDP at the end of this year and 79 percent in 2024 (the end of the current 10-year projection period).”

And the consequences? They are potentially dire, according to CBO.

“Such large and growing federal debt could have serious negative consequences, including restraining economic growth in the long term, giving policymakers less flexibility to respond to unexpected challenges, and eventually increasing the risk of a fiscal crisis (in which investors would demand high interest rates to buy the government’s debt).”

And yet what CBO had to say on the impact of Obamacare got most of the attention.

Our government needs to address out $17-trillion-plus national debt while there is still time to avoid potential disaster.