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Stories Tagged as

National debt

Raising the Debt Ceiling

Why comparing government and household spending doesn't quite work

by Kai Ryssdal and Andie Corban
Feb 16, 2023
It's like comparing apples and oranges, professor Golnaz Motie says, because the government has many more tools and huge immediate obligations.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has compared the federal debt ceiling to a household's credit limit.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
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Raising the Debt Ceiling

Breaking down the $31.4 trillion national debt

by Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst
Jan 27, 2023
There are public holders and government agencies, which all comes into play in the congressional debt ceiling battle.
The national debt is made up of two big pieces — intragovernmental holdings and IOUs held by the public. Above, the U.S. Capitol dome seen through a glass ceiling.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
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I've Always Wondered ...

When was the last time we paid down the national debt?

by Janet Nguyen
Dec 2, 2021
The U.S. owes almost $29 trillion.
The U.S. Capitol building in Washington. Congress is discussing what to do about the federal debt limit, again.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
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Janet Yellen says national recovery is more important than the national debt

by Nancy Marshall-Genzer
Jan 19, 2021
President-elect Joe Biden's nominee for treasury secretary stressed that if we don't shore up the economy now, we'll have a worse crisis to manage later.
Then-Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen testifies before a House panel in 2016, with the national debt displayed in the background. Yellen, now nominated to run the Treasury Department, is focused on funding an economic recovery.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
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U.S. debt is hitting historic heights. How much of a problem is that?

by David Brancaccio , Candace Manriquez Wrenn , Erika Soderstrom and Alex Schroeder
Sep 3, 2020
The last time the deficit was this high, as a percentage of the total economy, was 1946.
A national debt counter from mid-June. The U.S. is approaching a position it has not seen since World War II, as the amount of government debt is on pace to exceed the size of the nation's economy.
Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images
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Kai Explains

What's behind the national debt?

by Andie Corban and Kai Ryssdal
Jun 17, 2020
We look into how the government borrows money and what it means in the long run.
Then-Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen testifies before the House Financial Services Committee in 2016. The national debt has since passed $26 trillion.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
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COVID-19

Stimulus without debt?

by Sabri Ben-Achour
Mar 18, 2020
If policymakers are too preoccupied with debt to provide the country the stimulus it needs, some economists say: Do it without debt.
Can the government just print more money to stimulate the economy?
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
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How George Washington would respond to today's national debt

by Andie Corban
Feb 17, 2020
The first president warned the country against accumulating national debt. Today the U.S. owes over $23 trillion.
George Washington has appeared on the one dollar bill since 1869.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
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Kai Explains

Breaking down the national debt and budget deficit

by Daisy Palacios and Kai Ryssdal
Oct 1, 2019
It's a new fiscal year for America. Let's look at our debt.
The National Debt Clock, a billboard-sized digital display showing the increasing U.S. debt, in New York City in 2011.
Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images
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Should you worry about the national debt?

by Paulina Velasco
Feb 16, 2018
We have short-term focus but a long-term problem.
Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney testifies before the Senate Budget Committee Tuesday on the 2019 budget proposal released the day before.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
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