At $39 trillion and rising, the national debt threatens America’s economic future. Here are the top 10 facts that explain why the national debt matters.
- Trillion-dollar deficits are now the norm. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that the U.S. government will run trillion-dollar deficits over the next decade, resulting in a cumulative deficit of $24.4 trillion between 2027 and 2036.
- Interest costs are growing rapidly. Interest costs were $970 billion in 2025 and are projected to rise to $2.1 trillion by 2036. In 2025 alone, the United States spent more on net interest costs than it did on any federal program other than Social Security and Medicare.
- Key investments in our future are at a risk. Higher interest costs