The Latest Breaking News from National Debt

The national debt is the same size as the economy. It's a 'disturbing warning and a call to action,' watchdog says

A new bipartisan survey finds near-universal concern that the national debt is driving up everyday costs, as fiscal confidence hits a 22-month low

Fortune · May 1

The national debt fix would cost $827 billion—roughly what America spends on its entire military, economists warn

A Cato Institute report lays out the scale of America's fiscal reckoning as the tools that once tamed the debt are no longer available.

Fortune · Apr 29

Jamie Dimon gets candid about national debt: ‘There will be a bond crisis, and then we’ll have to deal with it’

“The level of things that are adding to the risk column are high, like geopolitics, oil, government deficits. And they may go away, but they may not.”

Fortune · Apr 29

The director of the Congressional Budget Office—known for its gloomy national debt data—is very optimistic that a crisis will be avoided entirely

“Making progress to address the fiscal trajectory would be a positive for the U.S. economy,” Swagel said. “We can’t go on [with] the scolding narrative.”

Fortune · Apr 20

Something is different about Trump's $1 trillion war on Iran and its stress on the national debt, Harvard Kennedy scholar says

During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, debt held by the public was around $4 trillion. Now it's $31 trillion, and 15% of the budget pays down interest.

Fortune · Apr 17

A world going broke: IMF says America's $39 trillion national debt is actually a global problem—and AI may be the only rescue

Global public debt is barreling toward 100% of world GDP, the fund warned Wednesday. Governments everywhere are spending money they don’t have.

Fortune · Apr 16

Trump has no plan to cut the $39 trillion national debt, but he does want to cut childcare. His budget director is scrambling to clarify

OMB Director Russell Vought appeared before Congress to answer questions about the request for the largest military spending boost since World War II.

Fortune · Apr 16

The next generation of senators has a ticking time bomb in their lap: Social Security’s insolvency, without a plan for national debt

“My hope would be that, come January, the campaign is over and [they] lay down some of the weapons and pick up some of the calculators and pencils, and try and come up with a solution.”

Fortune · Apr 10

‘We owe it to the next generation’ to get national debt under control, says think tank boss, as U.S. borrowing hits $1.2 trillion in just six months

“We can fight over who got the worst end of the shortest stick, but we clearly are doing a disservice to anybody participating in the economy in the future,” Michael Peterson, CEO of the Peterson Foundation, tells Fortune.

Fortune · Apr 10

The U.S. government is spending $88 billion a month in interest on national debt, equal to its spending on both defense and education combined

Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, called on lawmakers to “ultimately fix the broken process that got us into this mess.”

Fortune · Apr 9