Musk Warns About National Debt, Reminds of 8 Trillion Since Trump Era

Elon Musk, the richest person in the world and currently leading the newly established Department of Government Waste Prevention (D.O.G.E), has shared his views on the increasing national debt of the United States. In an effort to raise awareness about debt, he has received some negative reactions, claiming that Trump's first term as President of the United States increased the total debt by about 8 trillion dollars. The interest payments of the US government have reached their highest level since 1990. The Treasury's expenditure accounted for $882 billion in net interest in the fiscal year ending in September. The interest costs have been added, currently standing at $27.7 trillion, isn't that a concern? Musk warns about national debt Musk wrote in a post on X that a large percentage of people don't know about something called national debt. He tried to point out that most people are not even aware of how big this issue could be. He added that the country's interest payments now exceed what they spend on the military. The head of the D.O.G.E has emphasized that only a small percentage of the population understands that government spending in excess of estimates causes inflation. He even shared a video where Marc Andreessen said that "Today's Federal Government pays more interest on debt than we spend on the Department of Defense budget." In the video clip, Andreessen also mentioned that the US pays $1.2 billion a year just for interest on debt while the government's total spending is about $7 trillion. However, the total debt is about $35 trillion and it increases by an additional $1 trillion in debt every 100 days. "The federal government today pays more interest on debt than we spend on the defense budget. We pay $1.2 billion a year just in interest on debt. The government's total expenditure is about $7 trillion. The interest payment is $1.2 trillion." A user has reminded him of the debt that Trump has added during his tenure. He pointed out that the President-elect added $8 trillion to the debt in his first term, and taxpayers are still paying interest on that. Even after this, Trump is seeking to implement further tax cuts believed to be for the rich, and that cannot avoid increasing debt. Can D.O.G.E cut down? The surge in US interest payments is reported to be due to soaring budget deficits, driven by increased spending for Social Security and Medicare, as well as COVID-related expenses. However, it has faced revenue constraints from the 2017 tax cuts. Ultimately, the rise in interest rates has also added pressure to financial markets. Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk have pushed for a new D.O.G.E to cut federal spending by up to $500 billion annually. They have even outlined a plan focusing on cutting illegal and non-essential congressional spending. Meanwhile, their bold statements on spending cuts have faced skepticism. Previously, Musk proposed a higher goal of $2 trillion in savings, but experts viewed it as ambitious. This is after looking at the majority of the US budget being constrained in mandatory spending for Social Security, Medicare, and defense. The step-by-step system to kickstart your Web3 career and find high-paying cryptocurrency jobs within 90 days.