Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell assured that the government's fiscal policy is unsustainable. Powell's remarks came during a conversation on "60 Minutes" with Scott Pelley aired Sunday.
"The U.S. federal government's on an unsustainable fiscal path. And that just means that the debt is growing faster than the economy," Powell said during the conversation.
It's time for us to get back to putting a priority on fiscal sustainability. And sooner's better than later.
For the first time in history, the national debt exceeded $34 trillion at the beginning of January, according to new data published by the Treasury Department. Just four decades ago, the debt was not even $1 trillion, roughly $907 billion.
Despite the serious historical figure, the nation's financial situation is projected to continue to worsen. The latest data from the Congressional Budget Office predicts that the national debt could nearly double over the next 30 years.
The interview also came a few days after Powell announced that interest rates would remain at their highest level in 23 years, around 5.5%, unchanged for six months.
"I can't overstate how important it is to restore price stability, by which I mean inflation is low and predictable and people don't have to think about it in their daily lives. That's where we were for 20 years. We want to get back to that," Powell said.
