# How much more debt can the U.S. government sustain?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-more-debt-can-the-u-s-government-sustain/464233>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 19, 2008, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-more-debt-can-the-u-s-government-sustain/464233 "2008-09-19T00:23:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![DaveRaver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daveraver/32/1078_2.png) [@DaveRaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveRaver)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-more-debt-can-the-u-s-government-sustain/464233/1 "2008-09-19T00:23:38Z")

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At present, 7/24 of our taxes (from January 1 through April 15, to use a calendar analogy) go entirely to paying the interest on our current debt. (Source = CNN). How much further can this go?

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**Author:** ![sweeteviljesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-more-debt-can-the-u-s-government-sustain/464233/2 "2008-09-19T12:04:38Z")

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You might want to check out [http://www.publicagenda.org/wheredoesthemoneygo/](http://www.publicagenda.org/wheredoesthemoneygo/). This a book put out by the Public Agenda group and points out that we are in for a reckoning soon if we don’t get our debt and deficit spending under control. It is non-partisan and pretty interesting.

FWIW,  
Rob

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**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-more-debt-can-the-u-s-government-sustain/464233/3 "2008-09-19T13:00:52Z")

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The term “how much further can this go” isn’t one that lends itself to a precise answer. Clearly, increasing debt causes economic strain, but there isn’t a tripwire at which things suddenly become critical.

One measure that may be useful is to compare our debt as a percentage of GDP against that of other countries. [List.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_public_debt) You’ll notice some countries with higher levels of debt that are generally considered to have, ahem, strong economic fundamentals. Germany, Canada, France, Norway, and others. Japan is near the top of the list, and as we know, they are having problems with debt and their banking system for a number of years.

So the answer probably is, that we can grin and bear additional debt, that additional debt obviously comes with additional cost and risk, and that other countries are paying the price for high levels of debt, with varying degrees of discomfort.

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**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-more-debt-can-the-u-s-government-sustain/464233/4 "2008-09-19T13:19:10Z")

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More accurately it’s how much more can the each individual lose and stay solvent?