The US national debt has reached a record $40 trillion (€34.4 trillion), and the Treasury, in response to pressure from the bond market, has promised to significantly increase the buyback of its own old securities. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Euronews.
Debt structure
Market debt ($32.266 trillion): securities (Treasuries) held by private investors, corporations, funds, and foreign governments. This amount is already roughly equal to the entire annual US GDP.
Intragovernmental debt ($7.781 trillion): internal government obligations to its own entities (e.g., social and medical insurance funds).
Financial difficulties
Spending on defense, social programs (Social Security), and healthcare (Medicare) dramatically outpaces treasury revenues. In July alone, the deficit amounted to $432 billion.
Due to the Fed's tight monetary policy, rates have risen, and servicing the debt (interest payments) now costs the US more than $1.1 trillion per year. This has become the second-largest expenditure item in the US budget, surpassing spending on Medicare.
Government actions
To reassure investors and curb the dangerous rise in bond yields, the US Treasury took an emergency measure—it doubled the volume of buybacks of its own long-term Treasury securities. Against the backdrop of record debt and instability in traditional bonds, alternative safe-haven assets such as gold and bitcoin have surged.
Expert opinion
President Donald Trump publicly stated that Americans "should not worry" about volatility, calling the country "mighty." However, independent analysts call the $40 trillion figure a "huge blinking 'Check Engine' light," signaling a loss of control over public finances.
Earlier, Kursiv reported that nearly 90 billion tenge of pension funds were invested in US government debt.