US National Debt Eclipses $33 Trillion Following Wars, Recessions, Tax Cuts and the Pandemic

The national debt has exploded past the $33 trillion mark following a series of missteps and unfortunate events that have cost far more than lawmakers have had to spend.

The debt has grown by more than $1.5 trillion this summer alone. And Congress is inching closer to a government shutdown on Sept. 30 if lawmakers cannot agree on continued funding past current debt limits.

The rising debt can reduce economic growth and business investment. It can lead to higher levels of inflation and a weaker dollar, and eventually culminate in a global economic collapse.

Already, one ratings agency has downgraded the nation's credit rating, citing its ballooning debt and lawmakers' inability to deal with it. Fitch Ratings said the move "reflects the expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years, a high and growing general government debt burden."

At a time when interest rates hovered just above zero, rising debt levels appeared affordable, but now with rates soaring it's costing the government billions in interest payments every week.

Within 10 years, the government will be spending more on interest payments than it typically has on infrastructure, education and research and development combined, according to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, founded by the Nixon-era Commerce Secretary.

Already the government is spending $2 billion per day on interest payments, the foundation said.

In a CNBC interview on Monday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the interest costs are still manageable, but she also said lawmakers must curb the trajectory of the rising debt.

“The president has proposed a series of measures that would reduce our deficits over time while investing in the economy,” she said, “and this is something we need to do going forward.”

The nation's debt level soared during the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, the 2008 Great Recession and the pandemic. Tax cuts and stimulus programs have also contributed to the pile.

A trillion — or a thousand billion — is an incomprehensible number for most people to visualize. It's a one followed by 15 zeroes. One million seconds is about 12 days. One billion seconds is about 32 years. And one trillion seconds is equal to 32,000 years.

The nation's debt is roughly equivalent to the gross domestic product of China, Japan, Germany, India and the United Kingdom, the Peter G. Peterson Foundation notes. It adds up to about $99,000 per person in the U.S., the foundation said.

Most economists look at debt-to-GDP ratios and the U.S. is dangerously high on this count, topping 120%, according to Federal Reserve data. Most economists would argue the ratio should be well under 100%. The Conference Board, a non-profit business research group, advocates for a 70% ratio.

"Rising interest rates make it clear there is no time to lose on this priority," said the Conference Board's Lori Esposito Murray said in a February news release. "Fixing the budget and reducing the debt will be challenging and will take a decades-long commitment. It is far wiser to act now than wait and suffer an even more cataclysmic fiscal crisis."