Interest payments on America’s national debt have a troubling connection to the beloved pumpkin spice latte.
America’s national debt is fast approaching $33 trillion. The interest alone on that debt is costing the American people about $2 billion a day, according to Heritage Foundation research. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.)
Do the math, and America’s interest payments work out to about $6 per U.S. citizen per day—the same cost as a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte.
“Net interest payments on America’s debt soared from about $350 billion in 2021 to nearly $800 billion today on an annualized basis,” Preston Brashers, senior policy analyst for tax policy at The Heritage Foundation, wrote in a recent report.
In March, Brashers said, he warned “that the budget office’s then-latest forecasts showed that the federal government’s net interest payments would surpass spending on national defense by 2028.” But according to Brashers, in just six months, “the net interest payments have surpassed spending on national defense over the past four months.”
The next time you’re sipping a “PSL” (millennial speak for pumpkin spice latte), remember that you and every other American have been saddled with debt by a government that does not appear to understand the concept of responsible spending. So, while you might opt to make your coffee at home to save a little money, the government has ordered pumpkin spice lattes all around every day.
On today’s edition of the “Problematic Women” podcast, we explain what to expect in Washington, D.C., as lawmakers prepare for debates over the fiscal year 2024 federal budget and annual appropriations bills.
Also on today’s show, the mainstream media is blaming climate change for every natural disaster these days, and we have a few ideas on why that might be. Plus, the crisis at the southern border cost a woman the lives of her daughter and mother. We take a little time on the show today to thank Elisa Tambunga for sharing her story and to honor her mother and daughter.
Listen to the podcast below:
Have an opinion about this article? To sound off, please email letters@DailySignal.com, and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state.
