US debt crosses $40 trillion threshold after doubling under Trump and Biden

WASHINGTON, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Total US debt has topped $40 trillion for the first time, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday, drawing fresh warnings that a fiscal crisis is brewing as ballooning costs for social safety-net programs and interest payments far outstrip revenues held back by tax cuts.

Budget watch dogs warn that a full-blown debt crisis could erupt unless lawmakers confront an unsustainable fiscal outlook and raise taxes, cut spending or both.

It comes after the interest rate on 30-year bonds reached the highest level in almost 20 years.

The federal government's IOU has now more than doubled in less than a decade, from $19.95 trillion when US President Donald Trump was sworn in for the first time in January 2017.

The U.S. national debt crossed $40 trillion on Tuesday, according to newly released data from the Treasury Department.   It marks a key milestone for the U.S., which has seen its total outstanding debt double over less than a decade. This sum first crossed the $20 trillion mark in late 2017 and reached $39 trillion jus

‘It is staggering how predictable the fiscal decline of a global power can become,’ the president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said

Fresh warnings are sounding that a fiscal crisis is brewing.

A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the U.S. Treasury building in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2023. Kevin Lamarque | ReutersGovernment debt has eclipsed $40 trillion, passing yet another staggering benchmark for red ink, according to the Treasury Department. The total U.S. IOU hit $40.05 tril

US debt crosses $40 trillion threshold after doubling under Trump and Biden  Reuters

"To anyone who cares about America, about democracy and our future, in my view, this is already a crisis," Michael Peterson told Fortune.

The country’s national debt is now over $40 trillion for the first time in history, leading economists to warn that the United States is staring down a fiscal reckoning. The Treasury Department reported on Wednesday that the debt crossed the $40 trillion mark the day before. Concerningly, the government has been runnin

Federal debt has mounted amid tax cuts and trillions in pandemic spending, adding to the nation's interest payments.