Economist Peter Morici breaks down what the national debt is, why it ballooned to more than $34 trillion and what it means for Americans.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The U.S. national debt is climbing at an astronomical pace and has shown no signs of slowing down despite the heightened scrutiny on government spending.<\/p>\n

The national debt \u2014 which measures what the U.S. owes its creditors \u2014 dropped to $34,153,974,129,467.71 trillion as of Monday afternoon, according to the latest numbers published by the Treasury Department. That is up about $6.6 billion from the $34,147,347,620,186.87 figure reported the previous day.<\/p>\n

By comparison, just four decades ago, the national debt hovered around $907 billion.<\/p>\n

The unrelenting increase is what prompted Fitch Ratings to issue a surprise downgrade of the nation’s long-term credit score in mid-2023. The agency cut the U.S. debt by one notch, snatching away its pristine AAA rating in exchange for an AA+ grade. In making the decision, Fitch cited alarm over the country’s deteriorating finances and expressed concerns over the government’s ability to address the ballooning debt burden amid sharp political divisions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

HOW MUCH DEBT IS TOO MUCH DEBT?<\/strong><\/p>\n