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How do Kamala Harris and Donald Trump's economic policy proposals stack up?

We do the numbers on how much each candidate's plans will add to the national debt and impact voters.
Joe Raedle and Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images
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U.S. debt just hit $35 trillion. Is it putting the global economy at risk?

Aug 13, 2024
If you add up government debt around the world, it totals $91 trillion. More than a third of it comes from one country: The U.S.
The national debt has ballooned to cosmic proportions.
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Does Social Security increase the national debt? It depends on how you define “debt.”

Jul 4, 2024
The program pays $1.5 trillion a year and aids 70 million Americans. But it has its own budget and by law can't create debt or widen deficits.
Almost 70 million Americans receive Social Security benefits and the program pays out about $1.5 trillion a year, as Marketplace's Kimberly Adams explains.
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Economic issues at the annual CPAC meeting

Feb 19, 2024
At the annual meeting of right-wing thinkers, economic issues such as tariffs and government spending are expected to be discussed.
Former President Donald Trump is slate to speak at this year's CPAC and has already said he wants another round of tariffs.
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Who’s afraid of our $34 trillion national debt?

Jan 30, 2024
Our U.S. debt is bigger than our economic output. Consequences include ballooning interest payments and potential trust issues.
The U.S. national debt is about 120% of what the economy generates in a year. But is this cause for concern?
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Federal Reserve losses contribute to federal deficit

Oct 24, 2023
When the central bank makes money, it hands it to the Treasury. But now it's losing money as it pays interest to banks on their deposits.
The Fed is, among other things, a bank for banks, and it pays interest to those banks. Those interest rates have gone up. Above, the Eccles building, which houses Fed governors' offices.
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Is Washington finally getting serious about the debt ceiling?

Every day there's a warning about how catastrophic a default on the national debt would be. What's it going to take to avoid that?
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy
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New UK fiscal metric paints a rosier picture of the national debt

May 17, 2023
The U.K. has adopted an additional fiscal statistic that suggests public finances are not in such a bad shape after all.
The U.K.'s new “public sector net worth” measure offsets debt by including government-owned infrastructure, such as railways.
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Could we mint a $31 trillion coin to pay the national debt?

May 12, 2023
Issuing a mega-coin has been proposed as a novel solution to the country’s debt ceiling crisis.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has called a trillion-dollar coin a "gimmick." Above, she inspects quarter dies at the Denver mint alongside second gentleman Douglas Emhoff in 2022.
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