The U.S. debt is growing astronomically and is a much bigger concern than many might think.
With the debt around $18 trillion, the debt per capita is around $56 thousand. Hence, everyone in the
United States would have to pay a fee of $56,000 for the U.S. to get out of this catastrophic debt.
Although many politicians in the past have talked about plans to change the nation’s fiscal path, not much changed in terms of a change in the rate of increase of the national debt. This is because the national debt has not remained a top priority in the eyes of politicians and taxpayers. They would like to spend government money on things that will have some kind of effect on the way people live their lives.
No one wants the government to fund more of the debt when that money could be
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However, if we do not take care of this issue now, how will this affect the economy in the long run?
One possibility is that the United States could get into so such debt that the amount it spends to pay it off starts to become futile. If lenders to the U.S. pick up on this trend they might decide to stop lending to the U.S. because of risk of defaulting. A country that is in a situation like that right now is
Greece. Although their debt is not as large as the United States debt, there economy is in a really bad position. Unemployment rates in Greece mimic those of the Unites States during the Great Depression which was around 25%. Since Greece has accumulated so much debt and its economy is functioning poorly, the European Central Bank and other potential lenders have decreased their lending to Greece.
This is also true because some think that Greece might default and if they do, lenders would not get all of their money back. Lenders are being very careful with how they lend to Greece because of all of the above, especially since Greece has defaulted multiple times in the past.
The United States on the other hand has only defaulted once and hence is in a much