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Fortune
Fortune
Eva Roytburg

Top economist says $39 trillion national debt leaves government worse prepared for recession than ever

US President Donald Trump speaks to journalists as he makes his way to board Marine One before departing from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on May 8, 2026. (Credit: Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images)

The U.S. has run into recessions with a messy fiscal situation before, but never this bad.

That’s the warning from Apollo chief economist Torsten Slok, who wrote in his Daily Spark newsletter on Tuesday the country is approaching a potential downturn “with this little fiscal buffer” for the first time in modern history. 

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