Higher Interest Rates May Add to National Debt Crisis

Packs of freshly printed $20 bills are processed for bundling and packaging at the U.S. Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington on July 20, 2018. Eva Hambach AFP via Getty Images

Will higher interest rates add to the U.S. government’s fiscal troubles?

With the U.S. annual inflation rate at a four-decade high of 8.6 percent, the Federal Reserve is accelerating its monetary policy tightening by aggressively raising interest rates. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) pulled the trigger on a 75-basis-point rate increase on June 15 and the U.S. rate futures market is penciling in another three-quarter-point boost at next month’s policy meeting.