On High and Rising Debt

When does a fiscal challenge become a fiscal problem? And at what point can that problem turn into a full blown crisis? As the federal debt held by the public reaches 100% of GDP, a level the US has seen only once before, at the end of World War II, these questions take on greater importance. Drawing on a new EconoFact Explainer, Doug Elmendorf, former Director of the Congressional Budget Office, joins EconoFact Chats to discuss how U.S. government finances became a problem, what this means for the broader economy, and what prospects there are for reducing government debt.

 

Doug is a Distinguished Service Professor at the Harvard Kennedy School.