We Are So Screwed

Another day, another government agency, another scary US debt chart

...to keep debt held by the public as a share of GDP in 2086 from exceeding its level at the beginning of 2012 (roughly 68% of GDP) in our Alternative simulation, the fiscal gap is 8.3% of GDP. This means that revenue would have to increase by 46% or noninterest spending would have to be reduced by about 32% (or some combination of the two) on average over the 75-year period. Even more significant changes would be needed to reduce debt to lower levels.