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National Debt

What is national debt and how does it affect our economy?

From This Collection

National Debt

U.S. debt just hit $35 trillion. Is it putting the global economy at risk?

by Stacey Vanek Smith
Aug 13, 2024
If you add up government debt around the world, it totals $91 trillion. More than a third of it comes from one country: The U.S.
The national debt has ballooned to cosmic proportions.
NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI via Getty Images
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National Debt

Does Social Security increase the national debt? It depends on how you define “debt.”

by Nova Safo and Kimberly Adams
Jul 4, 2024
The program pays $1.5 trillion a year and aids 70 million Americans. But it has its own budget and by law can't create debt or widen deficits.
Almost 70 million Americans receive Social Security benefits and the program pays out about $1.5 trillion a year, as Marketplace's Kimberly Adams explains.
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Election 2024

Social Security cuts are inevitable by 2035 unless lawmakers act

by Kimberly Adams
Jun 27, 2024
Social Security has been known as “the third rail of American politics” since the early 1980s, with the idea that touching the program can prove deadly to a politician’s career.
Because Social Security can’t take on any debt or tap into general revenues to fund benefits, Congress needs to do something before the money runs out.
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Breaking Ground

How the Inflation Reduction Act could change the future of one Native American reservation

by Kai Ryssdal and Andie Corban
Jun 24, 2024
Bob Blake, member of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa and owner of a solar development company, explains how the IRA could lead to more solar power on the reservation.
Bob Blake and Ralph Jacobson are developing solar energy at the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Northern Minnesota.
Andie Corban/Marketplace
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Breaking Ground

The Golden Triangle: How the CHIPS Act is changing one Arizona neighborhood

by Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst
May 29, 2024
The investment and growth spurred by government dollars are heightening competition among residents, business owners and local officials.
In the Phoenix area, development accelerated by CHIPS Act investment may disrupt rural lifestyles and transform parts of the desert. Above, developer Charles Eckert.
Maria Hollenhorst/Marketplace
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National Debt

Tax breaks are popular. They also cost the federal government more than $1 trillion a year.

by Kimberly Adams
May 24, 2024
In the debate over the debt and deficit, experts say tax breaks that skew toward the wealthy deserve as close a look as government spending.
“The IRS has basically been turned into not just a revenue-collection agency, but also basically a welfare agency having to give people goodies and tax breaks for all sorts of different things that they do," economist Gerald Prante says.
Michael Bocchieri/Getty Images
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National Debt

Now that pandemic SNAP benefits have ended, many scramble for food

by Stacey Vanek Smith
May 23, 2024
The number of Americans facing food insecurity has increased. People are turning to food pantries, soup kitchens and each other.
When emergency nutrition assistance expired, millions of Americans suddenly had hundreds of dollars less per month for food. 
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National Debt

Commerce chief lays out blueprint for chip manufacturing in America

by Kai Ryssdal and Sarah Leeson
May 10, 2024
The supply chain is being built to reduce U.S. vulnerability and seize opportunities like artificial intelligence, Raimondo says.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo discussed chips, China and jobs with Marketplace's Kai Ryssdal in Washington.
Nancy Farghalli/Marketplace
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National Debt

When the government can no longer pay full Social Security benefits

by Sabri Ben-Achour
May 7, 2024
Monday's report on the system's "go-broke" date raises questions about how Social Security is funded.
Projections indicate that Social Security and Medicare benefits will be cut immediately after 2033 by 21%, says Will McBride, vice president of federal tax policy at the Tax Foundation.
Bill Oxford via Getty Images
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National Debt

How entitlements like Social Security and Medicare got so big

by Stacey Vanek Smith
May 3, 2024
These programs are the biggest part of the budget, and cuts to them feel personal, one expert says. Reducing them has been tough historically.
Social Security started during the Depression as a way to get money to elderly people, many of whom were living in poverty. Now it's the biggest U.S. government expense.
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