The U.S. national debt has now surpassed $31 trillion. Everyday the U.S. government spends over $1 Billion in interest payment on the National Debt.
The $31 trillion gross federal debt includes debt held by the public as well as debt held by federal trust funds and other government accounts, according to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. In comparison, the U.S. gross national product, a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold in a specific time period by countries, is $25.25 trillion according to Bureau of Economic Analysis.
In very basic terms, gross federal debt can be thought of as debt that the government owes to others plus debt that it owes to itself.
America’s high and rising debt matters because it threatens our economic future, reports the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. The coronavirus pandemic may have rapidly accelerated our nation’s fiscal challenges, but we were already on an unsustainable path, with structural drivers that existed long before the pandemic.
Making the hard choices to put our nation on a more sustainable fiscal path will help ensure a stronger and more resilient economy for the future. Otherwise, staying the course means a bleaker economic future for the nation and threatens the economic well-being of all Americans.
References:
- THE NATIONAL DEBT IS NOW MORE THAN $31 TRILLION. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?, The Peter G. Peterson Foundation, October 4, 2022. https://www.pgpf.org/infographic/the-national-debt-is-now-more-than-31-trillion-what-does-that-mean
- https://www.bea.gov/news/2022/gross-domestic-product-third-estimate-gdp-industry-and-corporate-profits-revised-2nd