The national debt is the total amount of money the federal government has borrowed, plus interest. This borrowed money supplements taxpayer dollars to fund government operations, from national defense to welfare programs.
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The national debt of the US fluctuates. A federally managed database is updated daily and shows how the debt constantly changes over a 24-hour period. It’s broken down by what the government owes individual investors (debt held by the public) and what’s due to one sector of the government by another (intragovernmental holdings).
When the Treasury hits this “debt ceiling,” Congress has to pass a bill increasing the borrowing threshold. Failure to do so may lead to a financial crisis.
After Jackson slashed spending and began selling federal land, the government was accumulating more money than it was spending. The situation was unprecedented, but it didn’t last. Too much money was being printed and land prices rose to unsustainable levels. Within a year, the economy tumbled into a depression.
While the US was only 12 years old when Alexander Hamilton was tapped as the first secretary of the Treasury, it already owed almost $80M. With the country bringing in just $4.4M in taxes, that was not nearly enough to cover government operations and pay debts.
The government borrows money to cover this deficit, which increases the national debt. It’s the fourth most expensive spending category in the US budget.
For investors, they're all usually considered low-risk options since they’re backed by the federal government.
Which countries have the most debt? And how does it stack up against their gross domestic product? This visualization, based on data from the International Monetary Fund’s October 2024 outlook, has answers.
The national debt consists of money owed to private investors who have purchased Treasury securities and money owed by one sector of the government to another. They’re respectively called public debt and intragovernmental debt.
If the US reaches this limit and Congress doesn’t pass a bill to raise it, the government cannot repay its debts. Suddenly, investors would lose assurance that the Treasury would make good on its securities, which have long been considered the safest type of investment.
“The federal government faces an unsustainable fiscal future,” according to this bleak 2025 report on the nation’s budget from the US Government Accountability Office. If unaddressed, the country’s debt could double its gross domestic product, warns the nonpartisan agency. For individuals, this may mean stagnant wages, higher borrowing costs, and more expensive goods.
The United States is home to more than 33 million businesses, the vast majority of which are small businesses, with millions being created (and others closing shop) every year. These businesses often rely on loans, provide the goods and services that keep the economy flowing, and sometimes even grow large enough to enter public markets or provide private investment opportunities. Explore key topics central to business and finance, from the role of the Federal Reserve to how initial public offerings work, how millions of American students finance higher education, and more.