That is more than triple the level it reached in the 2019 fiscal year. At the end of the fiscal year, the budget office predicts, total debt held by the public will be about $20.3 trillion. By comparison, the total output of the American economy — its gross domestic product — is projected to be just over $20.6 trillion for the fiscal year. With its debt payments more expensive, the household — or government — would have to borrow even more to stay current on its obligations. But it has been decades since the amount of federal debt was larger than the sum of the nation’s annual economic output.

Source: New York Times September 02, 2020 23:09 UTC