Budget Deficit Soars 23 Percent to $1.7 Trillion, Prompting Warnings

‘We are a nation addicted to debt,’ experts say, as the U.S. budget deficit jumps 23 percent to nearly $1.7 trillion.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen delivers remarks during a meeting of the Financial Stability Oversight Council at the U.S. Treasury in Washington on July 28, 2023. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

The U.S. annual budget deficit has increased by 23 percent from last year to just below $1.7 trillion, prompting one fiscal policy expert to remark that the country is “addicted to debt.”

The budget deficit was $320 billion higher this year than last, hitting $1.695 trillion, according to the Treasury Department’s final monthly treasury statement for fiscal 2023, which ended on Sept. 30.