Is the National Debt $19 Trillion?

Quite a few candidates in last night’s debate mentioned the size of the national debt, but not all were able to do so successfully, with some saying $18 trillion and some saying $19 trillion.

To clarify, the U.S. gross debt as of September 15, 2015 stood at $18.15 trillion. Gross debt is a measure of all outstanding bonds, including those the government owes to itself – such as the bonds that the Social Security Trust Fund holds.

However, if we exclude the money the government owes to itself, it results in a concept called debt held by the public. This number is about $5 trillion lower, totaling approximately $13.15 trillion. Currently, debt held by the public is about 74 percent of the size of the economy, and is projected to rise to 77 percent by 2025.

Ruling: Largely True

Tags

Trending

Blog

Student Loans Cost $340 Billion More than Expected

Based in part on new data from the Congressional Budget Office, this piece shows: The estimated federal cost of student loans issued between 2015 and 2024 has increased by $340 billion – from a projected gain of $135 billion in the 2014 baseline to an expected loss of $205 billion in the 2024 baseline. Much of the cost increase can be explained by the expansion and increased enrollment in income-driven repayment (IDR). In forward projections, graduate school loans are now nearly as subsidized as undergraduate loans and make up half of the cost of newly issued student loans. Reforming graduate loans to be cost-neutral would generate over $100 billion in deficit reduction over the next decade.

Read more

What's Next