"Richard Haass, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations after leading the organization for 20 years, and a senior State Department official under multiple administrations, pointed to his own thought leadership on the subject. Haass and Carolyn Kissane co-authored a paper for the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, warning about the national security implications of the ever-expanding debt."
"On Wednesday night, Haass told Fortune's Diane Brady that the angst over the national debt is massive but distant at the same time. 'It's one of those things that's almost like the old law: It's fine until the day it's not. So I think we're living on borrowed time.'"
"He was careful to hedge on timing - 'I'm just not smart enough to know whether it's a month from now, a year from now, five years from now' - but his broader alarm was unambiguous. 'I do think we're eroding confidence in American competence and leadership.'"
The United States national debt surpassed $39 trillion this week, reaching this milestone in less than five months after hitting $38 trillion. Budget watchdogs unanimously describe this accumulation pace as unsustainable. Richard Haass, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, characterizes the debt crisis as a national security threat rather than merely a balance sheet problem. He warns that confidence in American competence and leadership is eroding. The Congressional Budget Office projects the federal deficit will reach $1.9 trillion in 2026 and balloon to $3.1 trillion by 2036. Debt held by the public, currently at $31.3 trillion, is projected to reach 120% of GDP within a decade.
#national-debt-crisis #national-security-threat #federal-deficit-projections #american-leadership #fiscal-sustainability
Read at Fortune
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]