America's Tab: How the Federal Debt Reflects a National Addiction to Easy Answers The recent milestone of $40 trillion in federal debt has been met with a mix of alarm and resignation, as if this were an inevitable consequence of the country's growth.
This figure represents more than just fiscal profligacy; it points to deeper structural issues within the American economy.
Since 2017, the national debt has doubled, largely due to trillions spent on wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) bailout during the 2008 financial crisis, and tax cuts introduced in 2017.