Elon Musk, the richest man in the world and now heading the newly established Government Waste Prevention Department (D.O.G.E), shared his views on the increasing U.S. national debt. In an effort to raise awareness about the debt, he has received some negative feedback claiming that Trump's first term as U.S. President added about $8 trillion to the total debt.

U.S. government interest payments have risen to the highest level since 1990. Treasury spending accounted for $882 billion in net interest for the fiscal year ending in September. The cost of interest has been added, now standing at $27.7 trillion, isn't that concerning?

Musk warns about the national debt

Musk wrote in a post on X that a large percentage of the population does not know that there is something called national debt. He attempted to inform that most people do not even realize how big this issue can be. He added that the country's interest payments now exceed what they spend on the military.

The head of D.O.G.E emphasized that only a small percentage of the population understands that government spending exceeding the budget causes inflation. He even shared a video where Marc Andreessen stated that "the federal government today pays more in interest on debt than we spend on the Department of Defense budget."

Andreessen in the clip also mentioned that the U.S. pays $1.2 billion a year just in interest on debt while total government spending is about $7 trillion. However, the total debt is around $35 trillion and it increases by another $1 trillion in debt every 100 days.

🚨 "The federal government today pays more in interest on debt than we spend on the Department of Defense budget. We pay $1.2 billion a year just in interest on the debt. Total government spending is about $7 trillion. Interest payments are $1.2 trillion.

A user reminded him of the debt that Trump added during his term. He pointed out that the president-elect added $8 trillion to the debt in his first term and taxpayers are still paying interest on that amount. Even after this, Trump is looking to implement further tax cuts that are said to benefit the wealthy, which will inevitably lead to an increase in debt.

Can D.O.G.E cut spending?

U.S. interest payments have reportedly surged due to soaring budget deficits, driven by increased spending on Social Security and Medicare, as well as COVID-related expenses. However, it has faced revenue constraints from the 2017 tax cuts. Ultimately, the rise in interest rates has also added pressure on financial markets.

Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk have ramped up D.O.G.E to cut federal spending by up to $500 billion annually. They have even outlined a plan focusing on cutting illegal spending and misappropriated funds from Congress. Meanwhile, their bold claims about cutting spending have faced skepticism.

Musk previously proposed a higher target of $2 trillion in savings, but experts consider this ambitious. This comes after looking at the majority of the U.S. budget being tied up in mandatory spending for Social Security, Medicare, and defense.

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