When your yearly budget includes $1 trillion in interest payments on the public debt, and (nearly) another $1 trillion on defense spending, small wonder that the total public debt keeps growing at an accelerating rate. It grew from $31.4 trillion in December 2022 to $34 trillion in December 2023, according to official figures just released by the Treasury Department. Michael Peterson, the CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation financial firm, noted in a statement: “Following last year’s debt ceiling deal, we quickly crossed $32 trillion in June, $33 trillion in September, and now we are soaring past $34 trillion,” he said.