Economist Peter Morici breaks down what the national debt is, why it ballooned to more than $34 trillion and what it means for Americans.
The U.S. national debt is climbing at a rapid pace and has shown no signs of slowing down, despite the growing criticism of massive levels of government spending.
The national debt — which measures what the U.S. owes its creditors — rose to $36,113,570,535,802.53 as of November 27th, according to the latest numbers published by the Treasury Department. That is up about $60.9 billion from the figure reported the previous day.
By comparison, just four decades ago, the national debt hovered around $907 billion.
The outlook for the federal debt level is bleak, with economists increasingly sounding the alarm over the torrid pace of spending by Congress and the White House. Interest payments on the debt for the government’s fiscal year, which…
