Right now, the United States owes roughly $39 trillion in total federal debt. It’s not a typo and, unfortunately, it’s not Monopoly money either. However, despite the panic that usually surrounds the debt, the country has not collapsed. Stores are still open. The government is still borrowing money. Investors are still buying Treasury bonds. And zombies haven’t started walking the streets. So, we obviously have a large debt, but the real question is how worried we should actually be about it.

    First, national debt is not the same debt that’s on a credit card bill. When the federal government spends more than it collects in taxes, it runs a deficit, and to cover that gap, it borrows money by selling Treasury securities. Investors buy them because U.S. government debt is still considered one of the safest assets in the world as it is “backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government,” according to Treasury Direct. That is why comparing America to a person who owes money isn’t accurate. A person cannot print dollars, issue bonds or collect taxes from an entire economy. The U.S. government can. Debt matters, but still, the national debt works differently from the money you owe your parents after ordering too much food through DoorDash.

    Still, after years of trying to turn a blind eye to the increasing number, it’s becoming much harder to ignore. This year, debt held by the public surpassed a major milestone: It exceeded the entire annual U.S. economy. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget stated that public debt reached $31.27 trillion, while GDP was about $31.22 trillion. That sounds terrifying, but economists disagree on how serious the situation actually is. Some argue that debt is not automatically bad. For example, former President Barack Obama economic adviser Jason Furman told the Financial Times that borrowing can make sense when it is used “to invest and grow the economy and make you richer in the future.” Borrowing can help a country get through wars, economic recessions, pandemics or other emergencies. Ultimately, if a government borrows to build infrastructure, support research or keep people employed during a downturn, that debt may be worth it in the long run.

    The problem is that America is not only borrowing during emergencies. We are also borrowing during relatively normal times. And, the scariest part of the debt isn’t even the total number: It’s the interest. According to the Congressional Budget Office, net interest costs are projected to rise from $970 billion in 2025 to more than $1 trillion in 2026. This makes it the third-most costly annual expense in the U.S., only behind Social Security ($1.575 trillion) and Medicare ($1.18 trillion).

    Now, this doesn’t mean that the U.S. will stop functioning, but it puts restrictions on where and how we can borrow money. That is the real danger of the national debt. It does not necessarily create one dramatic disaster. It slowly limits what the country can do. Even Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has warned the nation about this. In a 2024 interview with “60 Minutes,” Powell said, “the U.S. federal government’s on an unsustainable fiscal path,” explaining that the debt is growing faster than the economy.

         “Will Gen Z be the one to receive a bill in the mail for $39 trillion? No. But we may still pay for it.”

    In the long run, the people who created this problem will be long gone before it is solved. And that brings us to the most uncomfortable part: Will Gen Z be the one to receive a bill in the mail for $39 trillion? No. But we may still pay for it. The cost could show up as higher taxes, fewer government services, slower economic growth or less flexibility when future crises hit. If interest payments keep growing, then future leaders may have less money available for the things our generation actually wants fixed: housing, education, climate, health care and infrastructure.

    That does not mean we should panic every time someone mentions the debt. The U.S. can still borrow money. The economy is still strong enough to support a lot of debt. And there is no magic number where everything suddenly breaks. But even if it isn’t an immediate problem, it can’t be left unchecked. Realistically, no magic wand could wash away all of the debt instantly. The U.S. would most likely need to cut some of its spending, increase its tax revenue and possibly reform the current Medicare program.

    So, can the U.S. afford its national debt? For now, yes, because the U.S. still borrows in its own currency, has the largest economy in the world and most importantly, has investors to support it. But this debt is scary because it represents choices we have postponed, such as whether we should raise taxes, cut spending or change Social Security. And eventually, someone has to make those choices.