“CBO projects that over the next decade, if current laws remained generally unchanged, budget deficits would eventually follow an upward trajectory in relation to the nation’s economic output, and federal debt would rise. Economic growth is projected to remain modest, averaging slightly above 2.0 percent through 2018 and averaging somewhat below that rate for the rest of the period through 2027. The budgetary and economic trends discussed in this report are similar to those CBO described in January, when the agency issued its previous estimates. Budget Deficits Are Projected to Rise Over the Next Decade – The projected rise in deficits would be the result of rapid growth in spending for federal retirement and health care programs targeted to older people and to rising interest payments on the government’s debt, accompanied by only moderate growth in revenue collections. Those accumulating deficits would drive up debt held by the public from its already high level to its highest percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) since shortly after World War II…”