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For the first time in history, the national debt of the United States exceeded $31 million dollars, a number which is recorded in the midst of unprecedented inflation and which has caused constant increases in interest rates.
The data was released this Tuesday by the Treasury Department, which also noted that the outstanding debt has increased by almost $8 trillion since the beginning of 2017 and $1 billion dollars in just eight months.
One of the reasons for the increase in public debt is that the US government took a large amount of loans during the covid pandemic- to help the economy.
The loans that were given under the Trump administration and to he beginning of the Biden administration happened at a time when interest rates were low.
Now, during a period of historically high inflation and a series of sharp increases in interest rates by the Federal Reserve, in its attempt to control rising prices, borrowing costs are much higher high.
What is expected in years to come
The Committee for a Responsible Fiscal Budget (CRFB) estimated last month that the policies of the President Joe Biden could add $4.8 trillion to the deficits between 2021 Y 2031.
“Excessive borrowing will lead to continued inflationary pressures, will push the national debt to a new record as soon as 2023 and will triple interest payments is federal over the next decade or even sooner, if interest rates rise faster or higher than expected,” the CRFB said.
Exceeding another debt milestone could certainly signal a “very big problem” ahead; however, in the short term, high levels of inflation are the biggest concern, he told CNN
, Alex Pelle, US Economist at Mizuho Securities .
Indebtedness levels have skyrocketed
When Barack Obama took office in January 2009, the outstanding public debt was $10.6 billion dollars. In 2017, when Donald Trump became president, the debt escalated to $19.9 billion dollars.
For January 2020, Biden inherited a debt of $ 19.8 billion dollars, as shown by data from the Treasury Department.
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