The US national debt crisis continues to rise, as the total debt owed has now surpassed $35 trillion according to new fiscal data. The United States debt has grown at an unprecedented rate over the past two years, as the country recovers from growing inflation and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The $35T debt marks the highest ever in the history of the United States. According to the House of Representatives’s budget committee, the total debt equates to:
- $483,889 per child
- $104,497 per person
- $266,275 per household
The national debt is the total amount of outstanding borrowing by the U.S. Federal Government accumulated over the nation’s history. This total in the US has grown by over $2 trillion in the last 12 months alone. One contributor to this that experts criticize is the recent budget allocated to national defense. With two ongoing geo-political conflicts in the Eastern Hemisphere, the United States has sent millions of dollars in funding to Ukraine and is increasing its support for Israel in its fight against Hamas.
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From Fiscal year 2019 to Fiscal year 2021, spending increased by about 50%. As mentioned previously, this is largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tax cuts, stimulus programs, increased government spending, and decreased tax revenue caused by widespread unemployment generally accounted for the recent sharp rise in the national debt.
House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) released the following statement on this milestone:
The leading presidential candidates, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald J. Trump, have yet to comment on the nation’s deficits. Most experts suggest that the economic problem will only worsen in the coming years. You can continue tracking the US national debt here.