Key points
- The debt grew faster than expected due to COVID-19 pandemic
- The pandemic shut down much of the US economy
- US govt borrowed heavily to stabilise the national economy and support a recovery
ISLAMABAD: The United States government’s gross national debt has surpassed $37 trillion well before pre-pandemic projections.
This highlights the accelerating debt on America’s balance sheet and increased cost pressures on taxpayers.
According to the Associated Press, the $37 trillion update has been included in the latest Treasury Department report, issued on Tuesday, which tracks the nation’s daily finances.
Projections
The national debt eclipsed $37 trillion years sooner than pre-pandemic projections.
The Congressional Budget Office’s January 2020 projections had gross federal debt eclipsing $37 trillion after fiscal year 2030. But the debt grew faster than expected because of a multi-year COVID-19 pandemic starting in 2020 that shut down much of the US economy, where the federal government borrowed heavily under then-President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden to stabilise the national economy and support a recovery, the Associated Press reported.
Big, Beautiful Bill
According to Newsweek, that borrowing surge has continued into 2024. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed into law a Republican-backed tax cut and spending package that the CBO projects will add $4.1 trillion to the national debt over the next decade.
