Benzinga reports that Elon Musk has issued a stark warning about the U.S. economy, saying the country is headed for financial ruin unless major changes occur.
In a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Musk didn’t hold back when he said the nation’s rising debt is contributing to the coming crisis.
“We’re drowning in debt,” Musk said, referring to the $36.14 trillion in U.S. debt reported by the Treasury Department. He warned that interest payments alone currently account for 23% of total federal revenue. “At this rate, the entire government budget will be spent on interest payments, meaning there will be no money for things like Social Security and Medicare. America will be happy.”
In 2024, the U.S. government spent more than $1 trillion on interest payments, a significant portion of its $4.92 trillion revenue. Experts predict that these payments will continue to rise and could exceed spending on Medicare and defense within the next decade.
Musk proposed cutting federal spending by 30% as a solution. However, this has faced pushback from some experts, including Mark Goldwein of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, who said such cuts could be made without severely impacting programs such as Social Security. He said it would be “next to impossible” to do so.
Asked about the impact on ordinary Americans, Musk warned: “It means soaring inflation, job losses and the collapse of the systems we depend on.”
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was also alarmed, warning Congress that the U.S. could hit the debt ceiling as early as January 2025 and urging swift action to avert a financial crisis.
