What’s going on: Unfortunately, President Donald Trump's plan to wipe out the long-standing national debt didn't exactly come to pass. Instead, the National Treasury recently announced it's nearly doubled. That's way more than going a little over budget. Problems started in 2007, when the Great Recession put us in the hole, and the 2020 pandemic only deepened it. If you've wondered how we didn't see this coming, economists did: They predicted 10 years ago that then-candidate Trump's proposed policies, like big tax breaks, wouldn't eliminate the debt — they'd add to it. Things have snowballed ever since. The introduction of the One Big Beautiful Bill's tax cuts in 2026 will add another estimated $4.2 trillion to the national debt by 2034. And tariffs — the president's latest economic fix — haven't exactly panned out. Instead, the US owes businesses $160 billion in refunds. The US is currently paying more on interest for the debt than it spends on Medicare or defense. One watchdog group estimates that if we don’t add taxes or reduce spending, it could be $50 trillion in six years. So much for Elon Musk’s DOGE chainsaw.
Am I paying for this?: Not directly, but yes, University of Wyoming economics professorScott Beaulier tells theSkimm. The national debt is growing faster than the economy, and if it struggles to support government spending and borrowing, that can add to inflation. Not again. And then there’s interest rates. As debt grows, investors demand higher interest rates for loaning money to the government. This typically gets passed on to us in the form of higher rates for mortgages, car loans, and credit cards. Not the news we wanted to hear. Beaulier warns there’s a “long-run cost,” too: Greater federal debt could discourage private investment, which leads to a sluggish economy and smaller wage growth. And this is why "treatonomics” is all we have.
