US budget deficit blows out 64% as the nation burns cash like a 'drunken sailor'

The US budget deficit is more than twice as big as it was before the start of the pandemic.scanrail/Getty Images

• The US budget deficit ballooned to $2.3 trillion in the 12 months through June – that's a 64% jump from fiscal year 2022.

• That shows the government is burning cash like a "drunken sailor," according to one expert.

• US deficits appear to be on a "completely unsustainable path," former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers warned this week.

The US budget deficit surged to $2.3 trillion in the 12 months through June, a 64% increase from the fiscal year 2022 that ended in September.

The latest number is more than twice as big as the shortfall before the start of the pandemic, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Last month alone. the government spent $225 billion  in excess of its income.

"Policymakers should work together to get the economy and our fiscal health back on track," the committee said in a statement. "Compared to the prior 12 months, total nominal spending is up 14 percent to $6.7 trillion and revenue is down 7 percent to $4.5 trillion."

However, the Biden administration's latest moves suggest the weakening trend in public finances could continue. The US government announced Friday that it will forgive $39 billion in student debt for 804,000 borrowers.

'Drunken sailor'

Financial markets expert Charlie Bilello weighed in on the latest budget-deficit figures, likening the US government's spending habits to that of a "drunken sailor."

"This is occurring when the economy is still in an expansion with the Unemployment Rate near a 54-year low at 3.6%. What happens to the deficit when a recession hits?" he said in a Thursday tweet.

"Shark Tank" investor Kevin O'Leary recently blamed the US government's spending for sparking inflation in the first place. The surge in price pressures has led the Federal Reserve to pump the brakes on the economy by sharply raising interest rates – and that's heaping pressure on small businesses, O'Leary said.

"When you turn on the spigot of government spending on either side of the aisle, that is how you get inflation," he said. "At some point you have to stop printing money."

Meanwhile, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers warned this week that the US deficits look more ominous than ever before, and are on a "completely unsustainable path."

Spending in excess of earnings is forcing the government to borrow unprecedented amounts. Billionaire investor Ray Dalio said last month that the US was at the start of a debt crisis  – where there was an worsening shortage of buyers at a time when the government was selling so much debt.

"In my opinion, we are at the beginning of a very classic late, big cycle debt crisis, when the supply-demand gap, when you are producing too much debt and have a shortage of buyers," Dalio said.

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