The United States’ current borrowing trajectory will place an “undue burden on future generations,” an economic think tank has warned, with younger generations facing a higher interest rate environment, slower economic growth, and stalling wage increases.
The latest research from the American Action Forum chimes with concerns across both the public and private sectors. JPMorganChase CEO Jamie Dimon and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell are among those nervously eyeing the nation’s $38 trillion debt burden. The government has paid $10 billion a week to service the debt for the first few months of the 2026 fiscal year.
Economists are concerned that at some point, the growth of the American economy will become so disconnected from the borrowing of its government that bond buyers will demand higher premiums on their loans. The worry is that the central bank will intervene by increasing the money supply—kick-starting an inflationary cycle—but that ultimately the government may have to cut back on spending.
Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio has described this scenario as an economic “heart attack,” with government investment squeezed out by the need for the country to maintain its debt obligations.
