The state of the federal budget, shaky to begin 2020, is being pushed to the brink by the COVID-19 crisis. This year’s deficit is expected to reach $4 trillion, which is almost as much as last year’s $4.4 trillion total budget. Total federal debt held by the public is on track to exceed GDP for the first time since 1946. Lawmakers are currently negotiating another multi-trillion-dollar fiscal response package. Despite all this, there are bipartisan efforts to use low interest rates as an excuse for yet more reckless deficit spending unrelated to the immediate crisis.
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