October 30, 2022
As of October 2022, the U.S. national debt stood at over $31 trillion. That amounts to nearly $90,000 of debt per citizen. But is there an upside to a government spending more than its tax revenues?
January 22, 2023
As the U.S. Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling in a timely manner, what lessons might policy-makers draw from the British budget crisis of September 2022?
May 7, 2023
A discussion with Bill Gale of Brookings on the U.S. debt limit, how often it has been raised in the past, and policy options to avoid default if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling.
June 12, 2023
Despite the high-stakes debt ceiling negotiations, U.S. debt relative to GDP is projected to keep growing over the next decade. What factors account for this projection and why does it matter?
May 11, 2023
The consequences of a failure to raise the debt ceiling are serious but difficult to quantify. Why does the U.S. have a debt ceiling, and what does it mean to raise it?
December 5, 2022
The impact on the Federal budget of rising interest rates is not immediately transparent due to the various types of outstanding government debt.
February 13, 2019
Over the next decade, the U.S. is on course for routine trillion-dollar annual deficits in the federal budget and the highest debt-to-GDP ratio in its history.
November 9, 2020
Michael Klein is joined by Bill Gale at the Brookings Institution, to discuss the government’s large budget deficit, tax policy, and issues of redistribution.
February 8, 2021
Olivier Blanchard joins Michael Klein to discuss the costs of a growing federal budget deficit today, and for future generations.
February 1, 2020
The CBO projects federal budget deficits to average more than 5 percent of GDP in the last three years of this decade, compared to Trump administration estimates below 2%. Why do they differ?
June 9, 2020
The increase in the ratio of debt to GDP does not mean the U.S. should tighten fiscal policy. Low interest rates and a return to economic growth would make public debt less costly.