U.S. national debt hits $38 trillion and Washington is ‘numb to our own dysfunction,’ budget committee warns

• America’s national debt has topped $38 trillion, and economists warn it could reach $39 trillion within months as borrowing accelerates. The bigger concern is the debt-to-GDP ratio, projected by the CBO to hit 156% by 2055, reflecting spending that far outpaces growth. In a statement to Fortune, Maya MacGuineas of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget called the milestone “appalling,” criticizing Washington for ignoring the crisis. Michael Peterson of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation warned that “budgeting-by-crisis” is unsustainable. President Trump has suggested unconventional fixes—like selling “Gold Cards” to wealthy immigrants—which economists have labelled peculiar but a step in the right direction.

America’s debt burden has hit $38 trillion. In fact, at the time of writi