#USNationalDebt national today?

$ 36,217,864,266,235

That is $ 106.109 for each

person in America

Why is the national debt

so high?

The growing debt of the United States is a result of simple math: each year, there is a mismatch between spending and revenue.

When the federal government spends more than it collects, it needs to borrow money to cover the annual deficit. And each annual deficit increases our growing national debt.

Historically, the largest deficits were caused by increased spending on national emergencies, such as major wars or the Great Depression.

Today, deficits are mainly caused by predictable structural factors: the aging of the baby boomer generation, rising healthcare costs, higher interest rates, and a tax system that does not collect enough resources to pay for what the government has promised its citizens. In the future, it will be crucial for American leaders to address the increase in our debt and its structural factors, described below.