US debt tops GDP

Añadido: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]This country now owes 31.3 trillion dollars. That's more than the size of the entire economy. That means for the first time since World War II, the US owes more than it earns. 31.3 trillion in debt versus 31.2 trillion in GDP. To put that into context, the US is now spending more on servicing debt than on Medicare or on national defense. Some economists say this is fine. The economy is still outgrowing the cost of the debt. Nominal GDP grew about 5.6% [music] last quarter, while the average interest rate on US debt sits near 3.4%.

[00:00:41]But others say we're on an unstable path. Either way, [music] this debt is predicted to hit 53 trillion by 2036, which is enough to fund about 50 years of Medicare spending or about 60 years of national defense spending.