According to online reports, Goldman Sachs pointed out that Trump's spending plan cannot prevent U.S. debt from climbing to "unsustainable" highs, and the U.S. debt level is currently second only to that of World War II. Next year, the United States will have to pay US$1 trillion in interest on US$36 trillion in national debt, more than the combined amount of health insurance and defense spending. Economists at Goldman Sachs have warned that if U.S. lawmakers delay solving the deficit problem, fiscal austerity may be needed in the future to avoid a crisis through unprecedented fiscal tightening. Goldman Sachs 'Manuel Abecasis, David Mericle and Alec Phillips noted in a report on Tuesday that while the spending bill passed by House Republicans, combined with increased tariff revenue, would slightly reduce the budget deficit without counting interest payments, the bill's impact on the overall deficit remained largely unchanged, given rising borrowing costs. The report emphasized: "The current path remains unsustainable-even in a strong economy, the primary deficit is far above normal levels, the debt-to-GDP ratio is approaching its post-World War II peak, and soaring real interest rates have caused debt and interest expenses to account for GDP. The growth rate far exceeds expectations in the previous cycle." Goldman Sachs said that the size of future debt will greatly depend on the trend of interest rates over the next two decades. At present, the US$36 trillion national debt accounts for about 120% of GDP, and the U.S. Treasury Department has to borrow new debt to repay growing interest rates. Interest payments on treasury bonds will hit $1 trillion next year, making it the second-largest government spending after social protection, according to the committee for a responsible federal budget, a think-tank.