Federal Net Interest Outlays: Time to Worry?

The latest federal budget data were released last week. Over the past 12 months through December, the deficit was $1.4 trillion with outlays of $6.3 trillion and receipts of $4.9 trillion (chart).

Among the fastest growing outlays is net interest paid by the federal government. It soared to a record $517.7 billion over the 12 months through December (chart).