Understanding the National Debt and Its Threat to our Neighbors and Neighborhoods

 

To understand how big a $36 trillion debt is, it helps to put it into perspective. Here are a few ways to think about it:

1. Per Capita (Average per person):

If the U.S. has a population of around 333 million people (as of 2025), you can divide $36 trillion by that number to see how much debt each person would owe if the debt were equally distributed.

So, each person would owe approximately $108,108.

2. Comparison to GDP:

The U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2024 is estimated to be around $26 trillion. This means the debt is about 1.4 times the size of the entire economy in a year. This ratio can help you understand how the debt compares to the nation’s economic output.

3. Daily Costs:

If you spent $1 every second, it would take you more than 1,100 years to spend $36 trillion. That’s how much time it would take to “pay off” the debt by spending at a rapid pace every second.

4. Historical Context:

The U.S. debt has been steadily increasing for decades, but $36 trillion represents a point where it has grown far beyond what the nation has ever managed before. For historical context, the U.S. debt was under $1 trillion in the early 1980s, and it took several decades to hit $10 trillion.

This is an enormous figure that reflects ongoing borrowing to fund things like government spending, social programs, defense, and interest payments on the existing debt. It’s also important to note that a country’s debt can be viewed differently depending on its economic growth, interest rates, and the ability to repay it.


Written by David L. Burton

MORE INFORMATION

Take the Engaged Neighbor pledge and become part of a movement! The pledge outlines five categories and 20 principles to guide you toward becoming an engaged neighbor. Sign the pledge at https://nomoregoodneighbors.com. Individuals who take the pledge do get special invitations to future events online and in person. Contact the blog author, David L. Burton via email at dburton541@yahoo.com or visit his website at http://engagedneighbor.com.

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