In its annual long term budget outlook released June 5, CBO projects that by the end of 2012, federal debt held by the public will exceed 70 percent of GDP, a dramatic increase from the end of 2008 when federal debt equaled 40 percent of the nation’s annual economic output. CBO attributes the sharp rise in debt partly to lower tax revenues and higher federal spending caused by the severe economic downturn and from policies enacted during the past few years, but notes “the growing debt also reflects an imbalance between spending and revenues that predated the recession.”
Read more about the report on the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) web site.