In the midst of a federal government shutdown, the U.S. government’s gross national debt surpassed $38 trillion Wednesday, a record number that highlights the accelerating accumulation of debt on America’s balance sheet.

It’s also the fastest accumulation of a trillion dollars in debt outside of the COVID-19 pandemic — the U.S. hit $37 trillion in gross national debt in August this year.

The $38 trillion update is found in the latest Treasury Department report, which logs the nation’s daily finances.

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[–] 46 points 1 year ago (1 child)

Because conservatives are fuckwits who are bad with money

A few get rich by shitting on people, stealing the work and ideas of others, and somehow people think that it automatically makes them experts on matters of finance

The US is a fucking joke

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    Did you just imply that Trump is a fiscal conservative? Since 2015 he made it clear he wanted to spend a lot of money. For a little while he pretended to side with Musk who was attempting to NOT spend so much money, but he eventually ditched DOGE and kept spending.

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  • [–] 33 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Lol! And to think, people voted for this moron because they thought he would be good for the economy. smh.

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  • [+] 28 points 1 year ago (4 children)
  • [–] 24 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    That is only when the Democratic Party is in charge.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    To be fair, nobody here would care about this if a Democratic was responsible.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    I am no fan of the Democratic Party but they do allow dissent and differing opinions as well as criticism of the President. The Republicans not so much.

    Poor Trumpsters has already added almost more than twelve years of Democratic Presidents and he and has had only 5 years so far. By the end of his presidency he will have spent the most, made the least, and bankrupted the majority of the Federal Government.

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  • [–] 27 points 1 year ago

    GOP will start caring about the debt in ... 3.3 years.

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  • [–] 18 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Both times while Trump was president. I'm starting to see a pattern here.

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  • [–] 15 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Those deported immigrants must have grabbed bags of money on their way out. /s

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  • [–] 14 points 1 year ago (2 children)
  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (1 child)

    Lol, DOGE was the quickest abandoned federal organization ever. Trump used it to get votes of real conservatives and some libertarian types.

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  • So we are going to stop helping millions of people across over a hundred countries, and spend more money somehow not doing it?

    "Yes Sir, a lot of people would call it dumb to spend more and not help people, it even cuts jobs from Americans"

    Yeah let's go with that, and uhhh, fire a lot more Americans while you are at it.

    "Where?"

    Everywhere you can find them, just fire people until things break, and we'll see if we can fix those things once they are broke.

    "Sir that's going to cost more money, hurt more people, and cut more jobs"

    Yes, that's why we are doing it, and uh tax everyone more and send the money directly to the Treasury so I can write myself checks from it,

    "Who would vote for you... Holy shit they are voting for you"

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  • [–] 13 points 1 year ago* (last edited 2 months ago)
    [–] 9 points 1 year ago

    It's ok guys 21 trillion in investments are coming, trust me bro.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago

    But how? Trump is such a prominent businessman/s

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago

    Don't worry! All that tariff money will cover it!

    /s

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago

    Could imagine having to listen to Kamala’s laugh though. I mean seriously. It was so bad. Plus look at this great new ballroom. And the airplane from Qatar, totally for free. And Qatar gets a military base in the US. And all the bailouts for foreign countries. While Americans go broke. And trying to start a war…while crying about the model peace prize. Just so much winning going on here.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago

    Anyone got some favorite European index funds? I’m completely pulling out of the US economy to all extents possible.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago

    We all knew hiring actors to feign competence was always gonna be expensive, but more expensive than the pandemic is stifling.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    I now no longer hold anything over an emergency stash of U.S. currency, because I no longer believe in the value of the U.S. currency. I do not want it. I use Monero.

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  • 72 comments in c/news@lemmy.world view that post
    [–] [S] 170 points 1 year ago
    [–] 111 points 1 year ago

    And not a peep out of the party of "fiscal responsibility".

    Really says something about the Cons, doesn't it.

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  • [–] 60 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    And you all got stimulus cheques this time too, right?! Right..?

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  • [–] 55 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    We cut all those programs and jobs and the deficit still went up?

    I wonder what happened to all that money they were saving by doing that?

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  • [–] 46 points 1 year ago

    Let them eat cake

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  • [–] 44 points 1 year ago (8 children)

    Oh no, this train is not slowing down. It can't. In fact, it has to speed up. At least, the currency debasement has to speed up.

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  • [–] 19 points 1 year ago (6 children)

    Currency debasement is a great way to kill an empire. I wholeheartedly endorse it.

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  • [–] 13 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    Kill the American Empire, so the MAGA empire can rise. Just like Weimar

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  • And then China, Western Europe, and Russia invade the United States after it initiates massive, aggressive wars to bolster its flailing economy?

    And then both sides launch nuclear weapons to end it all?

    Is this the accelerationist argument?

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago* (2 children)

    Honestly the whole Weimar turning into Nazi Germany thing was kinda a fluke historically speaking. Usually the empire in question implodes, stagnates, or decentralizes usually a mix of atleast two, unless it's Rome where they will do all three plus a secret forth option and come out the other side.

    The Nazis frankly speaking had Alexandrian level plot armor, if anything had gone even slightly different they may have collapsed before even operation Barbarossa.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    I think in their case, a righteous anger against the Versailles Treaty fueled a good deal of the effort that they put into becoming a new empire. The rest of the fuel came from stealing from their Jewish and minority citizens, temporarily boosting their coffers. It couldn't last, since there was no forethought about where to stop, and they destroyed their best financial gurus out of jealousy and stupidity.

    Anyhow, I believe that Dogey America cannot handle a civil war. Unlike the Nazi regime's luck of a poorly run Weimer, it is the conservatives who mismanaged the economy, and Americans have no one but MAGA to blame for a Greater Depression. That a rat like Yarvin has left the ship is an hopeful sign.

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  • Just to add some more data points for you about the German economy under the Nazis.

    The German economy was already recovering under the Weimar Republic but it was slow going, the Nazis were able to more or less ride it and claim credit which when combined with morally shit but economically sensible shit like pushing women out of certain jobs in favor of men made the initial economy relatively stable.Note this is also stupid long term but that's measured in the terms of decades, also the only reason it worked was because of early 20th familial economics this wouldn't work in the modern US for example.

    Then theres the stripping wealthy minorities of their wealth which allowed them to fuel the war economy they were building but had the obvious effect of hurting the economy long term and scareing educated and experienced professionals away. The death camps come later long after the economy was exclusively propped up by the war and even then they wasted so much resources that it fucked them over even more.

    Finally there's the stripping of resources from conquered territories which was the only reason they were able to continue past Czechoslovakia, the German economy by the time of the invasion of Poland was basically a great wyrm consuming anything and everything it could find to keep itself alive. There's a reason they slowed down so much invading the Soviets, it's cause the Soviets scorched earthed everything and Africa had basically no payout.

    But yeah the US ain't got the same circumstances and if even a small civil war kicked off it'd probably be more than enough to kill the feds and half the states at this point. The US simply isn't robust enough, it can't fuel itself with revanchists like the Nazis nor can it burn itself to be reborn like Rome. The US is an old empire showing its age and facing a springtime of nations like the Austro-Hungarian empire or the Ottoman empire.

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  • [–] 37 points 1 year ago

    He was president during the pandemic

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  • [–] 35 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    BuT rEpuBliCaNs R BetR Fur ThE ecONomY!

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  • [–] 34 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Damn, those Republicans are great at managing the government's finances.*

    *This a scarstic comment

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  • [–] 25 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Wow, interest alone on the debt is now hitting $1trillion a year and expected to hit $14 trillion in 10 years!?

    And this is despite Americans being taxed $350bn through trumps tarrifs.

    Elon Musk is very quiet about this - wasn't this why he went all in on DOGE?

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  • [–] 24 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    He really needs to put something around his neck to cover up his neckitalia. It’s really disgusting

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  • [–] 20 points 1 year ago

    Trumpflation returns. Its the biggest, most beautiful type of inflation where rich people get richer and everyone else pays more.

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  • [–] 19 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    Why did no one warn us that a failure of a businessman would utterly fail at the business of running an economy?

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    First a failed painter. Now a failed businessman. Who's gonna be next?

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  • [–] 15 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    Unstoppable debt spiral. Basically this, the more people come to realize it's never being paid back, the faster it will grow, and the faster it grows, the more people realize it's never being paid back. It doesn't really mean anything at this point.

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  • [–] 12 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Even if that were true, you can’t escape the consequences

    https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/061515/what-are-some-historic-examples-hyperinflation.asp#%3A%7E%3Atext=Hyperinflation+is+a+rapid+and%2Cits+currency+value+became+worthless.

    Is the U.S. at Risk of Hyperinflation?

    There would need to be a significant and highly unlikely drop in production and a massive increase in circulating currency for hyperinflation to occur in the U.S.

    You my think that paragraph on the us is encouraging, but consider today’s reality

    • disruption caused by general tariffs government investments, and the government reneging on commitments is quite likely to cause a sudden drop in production. There is a lot of recession talk
    • the current administration is trying to force the federal reserve to effectively print money, create a massive increase in circulating currency by cutting interest rates, total Y the opposite of what you need to do to control inflation
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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    We can't completely escape the consequences, but they can be mitigated. I don't have a lot to lose. I don't benefit from a 401k or social security. There's a reason why investors are flocking to gold.

    Something that needs to change is how real estate is seen as an investment. It has broken the quality of life increase in the US by gatekeeping real estate, drastically increasing cost of living, while building nothing new to preserve investment. When you make housing an investment, it becomes in your best interest to stop building more to reduce supply and preserve value.

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  • [–] 26 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Then if Dems get in power suddenly Republicans will care about spending again. Everyone knows how this song and dance goes.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    If dem tears down east wing during a shutdown and you'll hear bad decorum or some bs and massive smear campaign about federal workers not being paid.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    Trump has done so much to get rid of decorum and the general respectability politics. This could be the greatest thing ever for a Dem who is willing to fight and be unapologetic for the people. They should tear it down day one and frame it as job creation too to rub it in.

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  • [+] 13 points 1 year ago (1 child)
  • [–] 12 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    When does Great Depression 2.0 start?

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  • [–] 30 points 1 year ago

    bIDeNs eCoNoMiE

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  • [–] 10 points 1 year ago (1 child)
  • [–] 10 points 1 year ago

    Oh don't worry, this administration will make sure we beat the previous record with a new pandemic.

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  • [–] 9 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    A Republican, the party of fiscal responsibility, ballooning the national debt to record numbers? Who could have seen that coming??

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    National debt shouldn't be called debt. All it does is confuse idiots who think it's the same thing as their personal budget.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (2 children)

    What should it be called then?

    Just woke up and cannot think so I am asking honestly

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago

    Is it great again yet?

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    Who actually owns this debt? Who is getting the interest payments? It seems like every country runs on some kind of deficit - where is all this money coming from?

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    It's basically spread between various governments (notably Japan, China, Norway), financial institutions and private holders. You can invest into US treasury bonds and that way you'll hold a piece of the debt. It's actually been considered the safest investment on the planet for the last century or so.

    The biggest single chunk of it is owned by the Federal Reserve - about $4 trillion if I remember correctly. Which kind of... doesn't make any sense?

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago

    Susan Collins is very concerned.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago

    And bonds keep going up

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    And you better believe of the Democrats gain power the Republicans will scream about the deficit until they are blue in the face and then do nothing. Worthless fucking Democrats.

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  • [–] 22 points 1 year ago

    Oh shut the fuck up.

    The nazis are literally terrorising people in their homes, gearing for war, and cooking the planet alive.

    But no, gotta bitch about the Dems more.

    Do us a fucking favour and remove yourself You literally bring nothing but a worthless drain on bandwidth at this point.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    They’ll steal your “entitlements” to help pay for it.

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  • [–] -3 points 1 year ago (3 children)
  • [–] 10 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    And so did Trump's first term. Except $8 trillion in 2012-2016 was a lot more than $8 trillion in 2016-2020. Right now we can safely expect over $10 trillion of increase by Trump's second term's end. If it ends, that is.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    Over the course of President Trump’s four years in office, the gross national debt grew from $19.95 trillion to $27.75 trillion – a $7.8 trillion increase (debt held by the public – the more economically-meaningful measure of debt – grew by $7.2 trillion over this period). However, much of this borrowing was due to policies put in place before President Trump took office or due to unexpected changes in circumstance. Debt was already projected to grow by about $3 trillion for the four years of his term when President Trump took office, and some of the additional debt accrued was also the direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic and recession. It’s also important to note that the government was holding an unusually large $1.6 trillion in cash when President Trump left office, which inflated the growth in debt relative to the deficit run during his time in office.

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  • [+] -12 points 1 year ago (1 child)
  • [–] 13 points 1 year ago

    And I wouldn’t put it past certain politicians to think this way. But currencies are valued based on economies, trading, their use in international exchange. It’s quite normal for an overleveraged country to have its currency devalued relative to everyone else. Sometimes by a lot.

    Again, certain politicians have very little intelligent thought so they may even like this idea because your goods are cheaper, easier to export. Certain businessmen could really enrich themselves ….. if you don’t think or care about everyone else suffering under huge inflation, your economy flat lining without imports, even as tooling or ingredients.

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