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Fortune
Fortune
Tristan Bove

America's debt just hit a milestone not seen since WWII — and credit agencies are sounding the alarm

Donald Trump (Credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The U.S. is now unmatched in a regrettable category. Among rich and spend-happy nations that are globally seen as safe investments, the U.S. beats out the competition when it comes to the size of its debt burden, as the nation’s public liabilities have exceeded the size of its economy for the first time since World War II. 

On Thursday, the nonpartisan watchdog Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) announced that U.S. debt held by the public, estimated to be $31.27 trillion, officially surpassed the country’s annual GDP of $31.22 trillion in March, basing its analysis on new data released this week by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

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