US Borrowing Exceeds GDP: What Does It Mean for the Economy? | This Is America

May 6, 2026 | For the first time since World War II, the United States national debt has exceeded the size of its economy.

Now standing at around $39tn, decades of deficit spending have pushed borrowing to historic levels. The government is spending about $1tn a year just on interest payments. Economists warn the debt trajectory is unsustainable, with projections showing it will continue to rise.

Higher borrowing costs are already affecting Americans through mortgages and loans. There are also concerns that global investors could lose confidence in US debt markets. If that happens, it could trigger a financial crisis with far-reaching consequences. So, how serious is the risk, and can Washington bring the debt under control?

Britain Is Facing Ruin, But Deluded Tories Are Still Refusing to Accept It

THE TELEGRAPH: Rishi Sunak knows the dangers, but his party has embraced a destructive economic illiteracy

Britain is permanently poorer, and the British state weaker, as a result of Covid, the collapse in GDP and the gargantuan debt binge that has kept us going. Our economy is the most socialised it has ever been outside of war, and we have resorted to the printing presses to finance spending in a shockingly unprecedented way, pushing the great fiat money experiment close to breaking point. We will spend a lot more every year even after the virus is gone, which will necessitate tens of billions worth of tax hikes or spending cuts merely to stabilise the debt.

That, in summary, is the economic devastation described or implied by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in what is easily the most terrifying official economic assessment from a developed nation I have ever read. The fact that much of the spending was necessary, that we can “afford” it (in the sense of being able to borrow more), that interest rates are dementedly low and that growth will bounce back with the vaccine, is no consolation. » | Allister Heath | Wednesday, November 25, 2020


That the UK is going ahead with Brexit at this time of national emergency and a once in a century pandemic is both stupid and irresponsible. Brexit was always a ridiculous idea. At this time, when the UK economy is on its beam ends, it is criminal. Also, keeping interest rates as low as they have been for about eleven years is the height of irresponsible management of the economy. BoJo should resign. – © Mark

Coalition 'Most Unlikely' to Meet Key Economic Goals by Next Election

THE GUARDIAN: Conservative thinktank says government has no hope of eliminating deficit and only slim chance of cutting debt by 2015

The coalition is "most unlikely" to meet its two key economic goals before the general election, a conservative thinktank says.

In a report published on Monday, the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) said the coalition had already given up hope of getting rid of the structural deficit by 2015 and that the chance of ensuring that public-sector debt is falling by the time of the next election is now slim.

The CPS, whose claims are rejected by the Treasury, also said the government's problems were exacerbated by the fact that many people do not understand the difference between debt and deficit and that they will be shocked to learn that debt (the historic total owed by the nation) will be around £600bn higher in 2015 than it was in 2010 even though the deficit (annual borrowing) will be lower.

The coalition "will be vulnerable at the next general election when opposition parties could argue that the huge increase in debt is primarily the result of economic incompetence", the CPS report said. » | Andrew Sparrow, political correspondent | Monday, August 27, 2012