In a historic fiscal milestone for the federal government, the national debt rose to $35 trillion for the first time, according to the latest Treasury Department data. Current debt levels are equal to $105,000 per person and $266,000 per U.S. household.
Washington accumulated $1 trillion in debt in less than seven months. Over the past year, the national debt has spiked by nearly $2.35 trillion, an average of about $6.4 billion per day. The immense growth of red ink flooding the nation’s capital has captured the attention of public policymakers. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in February conceded that the federal government is “on an unsustainable fiscal path.”
Two of the big three credit agencies downgraded their outlook on the U.S. debt, citing fiscal deterioration, persistent debt ceiling negotiations, and ballooning interest payments. When these updates were released last year, the White House disagreed with the firms’ outlooks.
