US debt to reach $16 trillion this week

US debt eclipses economy, reaching $16 trillion
this week

The US government is about to announce its $16 trillion debt, a landmark number that has more than tripled during the last two presidencies. At 104 per cent of the nation’s gross domestic product, the debt is now larger than the US economy itself.

The federal government closed Thursday with $15.99 trillion in debt – but some budget analysts think it most likely reached $16 trillion by the end of the day, the Washington Examiner reported.

Each day, the debt grows by roughly $3.5 billion, or about $2 million per minute.

Twelve years ago, before the election of George Bush, the debt stood at $5.6 trillion. In the months before President Obama took office, the debt was $9.6 trillion. During the last presidency, it has increased by $6.4 trillion – two-thirds of its 2008 amount. The current president has overseen the largest debt explosion in US history.

This year marks the fourth consecutive year with a $1 trillion budget shortfall.

About 30 per cent of the total public debt is intragovernmental holdings, including money borrowed from Social Security’s trust fund.