From the CBO Director’s Blog–Bad News

This morning [June 5, 2012] CBO released the latest in its series of reports on the long-term budget outlook. CBO also published an infographic that highlights the key points of the report. . . tomorrow key findings of the report before the House Budget Committee.

By the end of this year, CBO projects, federal debt will reach roughly 70 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the highest percentage since shortly after World War II. Whether that debt will continue to grow in coming decades will be affected not only by long-term demographic trends—particularly the aging of the population—and economic developments but also by policymakers’ decisions about taxes and spending. The aging of the baby-boom generation portends a significant and sustained increase in the share of the population receiving benefits from Social Security and Medicare, as well as long-term care services financed by Medicaid. Moreover, per capita spending for health care is likely to continue rising faster than spending per person on other goods and services for many years (although the magnitude of that gap is uncertain).

http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43295  Director’s blog

http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43288  The report