It is no secret that the United States is in debt, over $36 trillion to be more precise. For decades people have raised concerns about these rising numbers and experts and politicians have worked to try to reduce the debt as they make an effort to better the economy. Because this has been a long-standing issue, it is difficult to identify specifically when the debt problem could escalate into a greater crisis.
On this week’s episode of Capitol Gains, Bipartisan Policy Center Executive Director of Economic Policy Shai Akabas joins anchor Rachelle Akuffo, Washington Correspondent Ben Werschkul, and Senior Columnist Rick Newman to talk about the national debt, and when the United States could face an actual debt crisis. Akabas is concerned the country is getting closer to that tipping point.
“We’re at 100% GDP, meaning that debt is about the size held by the public is [also] about the size of our economy. That’s a very high level, and it’s almost unprecedented in US history and we’re headed much, much higher than that.”
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Though Akabas is confident we’ve “passed the point where we could hit some type of major economic downturn or unforeseen event,” like the COVID-19 pandemic or great recession, the country needs to get a handle on the situation sooner rather than later.
“We've been the proverbial frog in the pot where the water is getting warmer and we think it's just feeling nice and cozy in there until it gets too hot where we start to burn,” Akabas explains. “I'm afraid that we're going to get that to that point before we realize it. And only when we realize it are we going to have to start implementing really dramatic policies that are not in the best interest of our economy and our country moving forward.”
To learn more about this, listen to the full episode of Capitol Gains here.
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Capitol Gains is Yahoo Finance’s unique look at how US government policy will impact your bottom line long after the Presidential election polls have closed.
This post was written by Lauren Pokedoff.