Does The National Debt Matter?
By St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank and David Andolfatto In the second quarter of 2008, U.S. federal debt held by the public totaled about $5.3 trillion, or 35% of gross domestic product (GDP). This figure grew to $20.5 trillion—or 105% of GDP—by the second quarter of 2020. To put it another way, the national debt…
