{
  "id": 3613668,
  "title": "Economists Who Weren’t Worried About the Debt Are Now Panicking",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/economists-who-werent-worried-about-the-debt-are-now-panicking",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-26T22:35:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Atlantic",
    "slug": "the-atlantic",
    "url": "https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/2026/08/national-debt-panic-40-trillion/688425/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "America's national debt recently reached $40 trillion, a figure that can feel overwhelming. Yet, not all economists have been alarmed by this debt. Budget hawks have long warned of potential fiscal crises, but others, known as doves, dismissed it as long as the U.S. GDP grew faster than the interest rate on the country's debt. However, some doves have now shifted to the hawkish side. Martha Gimbel, an economist at Yale, explained that this shift is due to the expectation of sustained high interest rates. The average interest rate on U.S. debt has risen from around 1.5% in 2021 to approximately 3.4% now. The 30-year Treasury bond's yield has more than doubled since 2021. This shift in perspective is partly attributed to the higher interest rates, the demand for credit from AI companies, and the increasing concern about the national debt's expansion. Investors are now seeing long-term Treasurys as riskier and demanding higher yields. The federal government hasn't shown much willingness to reduce the debt through spending cuts or tax increases. Politicians of both parties have focused on tax cuts and increased spending over the past 25 years, leading to a significant increase in the deficit. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act alone is expected to add $4.7 trillion to the deficit through 2035. Despite some short-term efforts to stabilize the situation, the administration hasn't done much to reassure creditors. Rising longer-term bond yields affect everyday borrowing costs, making mortgages and student loans more expensive. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested that stimulating the economy could be a solution, but without a clear plan, this seems like wishful thinking. The dominant political mindset is to avoid raising taxes, which might lead to an uncontrolled increase in the debt and interest rates.",
  "summary": "What really concerns them isn’t just the $40 trillion.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}