What Is Pushing the National Debt to Its Limit?
The U.S. national debt has increased by more than $8 trillion dollars since late January 2020, pushing the total debt over $31 trillion, according to the Treasury Department. Extraordinary measures to keep paying the government’s bills could run out before July, according to new figures from the Congressional Budget Office released Wednesday.
When federal government spending exceeds revenue, creating a budget deficit, the U.S. covers the gap by selling securities, such as Treasury bonds. The national debt is the accumulation of all past deficits plus the interest owed on the resulting debt. Measuring the debt as a share of gross domestic product allows for comparing the level of debt over time relative to the size of the U.S. economy and for comparisons with other countries’ debt-to-GDP ratios.
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