US National Debt Exceeds $38 Trillion,Raising Sustainability Concerns
WASHINGTON D.C. – The United States’ national debt has surpassed $38 trillion,marking a new record as the disparity between government spending and revenue continues to widen. The US Department of the Treasury reported the debt stood at $38,019,813 as of Tuesday.
The milestone underscores a rapidly escalating fiscal challenge for the world’s largest economy. The debt now amounts to roughly $111,000 per person in the US,and is equivalent to the combined economic output of China,India,Japan,Germany,and the United Kingdom,according to the Peter G Peterson foundation.
The $38 trillion figure comes just over two months after the debt exceeded $37 trillion in mid-August. In November 2023, the debt stood at $36 trillion, and $35 trillion the previous July.
“Adding trillion after trillion to the debt and budgeting-by-crisis is no way for a great nation like America to run its finances,” said Michael A Peterson, CEO of the Peter G Peterson Foundation, in a statement. “Instead of letting the debt clock tick higher and higher, lawmakers should take advantage of the many responsible reforms that would put our nation on a stronger path for the future.”
Recent credit rating downgrades reflect growing concerns about the US fiscal outlook. In May, Moody’s lowered the US government’s credit rating from Aaa to Aa1, citing persistent fiscal deficits and rising interest costs. This followed similar downgrades by Fitch and Standard & Poor’s in 2011 and 2023, respectively.
Economists debate the threshold at which US debt levels could trigger a financial crisis, but there is broad consensus that the current trajectory is unsustainable. A 2023 analysis by the Penn Wharton Budget Model suggested financial markets may not tolerate debt exceeding 200 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the debt could reach that level by 2047, influenced in part by tax cuts enacted under the 2017 tax law.
