Record U.S. Debt, but Interest Costs Are In Line With History
- Measuring the Interest Burden: This chart shows federal interest payments as a share of everything the federal government spends, rather than the dollar amount owed.
- A Look at the Data: Currently, federal interest payments as a share of federal spending are 16.1%. That compares to a long-term average of 15.0% since 1947.
- Investment Implications: The amount of debt owed has continued setting records. What it costs to pay the interest each year, measured against everything the government spends, has not.
