US national debt surpasses size of economy for first time since WWII

The national debt of the United States has exceeded the size of its economy for the first time since the Second World War, standing at $31.27 trillion at the end of March.

Gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at $31.22 trillion over the annual period, Caliber.Az reports, citing Fox Business.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis said the United States is rapidly approaching a post-war record debt-to-GDP ratio of 106% recorded in 1946.

Projections from the Congressional Budget Office suggest the ratio could reach 108% by 2030 and exceed 120% within a decade.

Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, warned that the current rise in borrowing is not driven by war but by policymakers’ reluctance to make “hard choices.”

She said the growing debt is placing a heavy burden on the budget, pushing up interest rates, increasing inflation, and making the country more vulnerable to geopolitical rivals.

“Without corrective action, rising debt could spark a devastating fiscal crisis,” she stressed, calling for a reduction of the deficit by roughly $10 trillion and an end to new spending and tax cuts.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov