Laurence Hunt's Blog

US Federal Debt Meter

December 7, 2010: The current official amount of US Federal debt below, now near $14 trillion, is up over 50% from the $9 trillion figure that I first posted here in mid-2008. Consider this - if interest rates return to a very normal 8% level, then the US will soon be obligated to allocate over $1 trillion per year in interest payments, and the amount can only rise after that point, as this sum is already non-repayable. To add insult to injury, according to John Williams at ShadowStats, the official estimates account for less than 20% of the actual GAAP amount. That is, the clock below should now be showing a real figure over $71 trillion, about $230,000 for every American man, woman and child....

Gross National Debt

Or, click here for US National Debt Clock (uses somewhat different figures). Click here for the Canadian debt clock.