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National Debt

Economic issues at the annual CPAC meeting

by Kimberly Adams
Feb 19, 2024
At the annual meeting of right-wing thinkers, economic issues such as tariffs and government spending are expected to be discussed.
Former President Donald Trump is slate to speak at this year's CPAC and has already said he wants another round of tariffs.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
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National Debt

Who’s afraid of our $34 trillion national debt?

by Stacey Vanek Smith
Jan 30, 2024
Our U.S. debt is bigger than our economic output. Consequences include ballooning interest payments and potential trust issues.
The U.S. national debt is about 120% of what the economy generates in a year. But is this cause for concern?
Win McNamee/Getty Images
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National Debt

Federal Reserve losses contribute to federal deficit

by Sabri Ben-Achour
Oct 24, 2023
When the central bank makes money, it hands it to the Treasury. But now it's losing money as it pays interest to banks on their deposits.
The Fed is, among other things, a bank for banks, and it pays interest to those banks. Those interest rates have gone up. Above, the Eccles building, which houses Fed governors' offices.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
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National Debt

Is Washington finally getting serious about the debt ceiling?

by Sabri Ben-Achour , Alex Schroeder and Erika Soderstrom
May 19, 2023
Every day there's a warning about how catastrophic a default on the national debt would be. What's it going to take to avoid that?
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy
Win McNamee/Getty Images
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New UK fiscal metric paints a rosier picture of the national debt

by Stephen Beard
May 17, 2023
The U.K. has adopted an additional fiscal statistic that suggests public finances are not in such a bad shape after all.
The U.K.'s new “public sector net worth” measure offsets debt by including government-owned infrastructure, such as railways.
Carlos Jasso/AFP via Getty Images
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I've Always Wondered ...

Could we mint a $31 trillion coin to pay the national debt?

by Janet Nguyen
May 12, 2023
Issuing a mega-coin has been proposed as a novel solution to the country’s debt ceiling crisis.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has called a trillion-dollar coin a "gimmick." Above, she inspects quarter dies at the Denver mint alongside second gentleman Douglas Emhoff in 2022.
Jason Connolly-Pool/Getty Images
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Raising the Debt Ceiling

Why comparing government and household spending doesn't quite work

by Kai Ryssdal and Andie Corban
Feb 16, 2023
It's like comparing apples and oranges, professor Golnaz Motie says, because the government has many more tools and huge immediate obligations.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has compared the federal debt ceiling to a household's credit limit.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
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Raising the Debt Ceiling

Breaking down the $31.4 trillion national debt

by Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst
Jan 27, 2023
There are public holders and government agencies, which all comes into play in the congressional debt ceiling battle.
The national debt is made up of two big pieces — intragovernmental holdings and IOUs held by the public. Above, the U.S. Capitol dome seen through a glass ceiling.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
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I've Always Wondered ...

When was the last time we paid down the national debt?

by Janet Nguyen
Dec 2, 2021
The U.S. owes almost $29 trillion.
The U.S. Capitol building in Washington. Congress is discussing what to do about the federal debt limit, again.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
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Janet Yellen says national recovery is more important than the national debt

by Nancy Marshall-Genzer
Jan 19, 2021
President-elect Joe Biden's nominee for treasury secretary stressed that if we don't shore up the economy now, we'll have a worse crisis to manage later.
Then-Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen testifies before a House panel in 2016, with the national debt displayed in the background. Yellen, now nominated to run the Treasury Department, is focused on funding an economic recovery.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
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