The U.S. National Debt Dilemma | Council on Foreign Relations

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Council on Foreign Relations Backgrounder Share Table of Contents Share After years of steadily increasing debt, federal spending has skyrocketed, taking U.S. debt to levels not seen since World War II. The U.S. national debt has soared to historic levels relative to the size of the U.S. economy. Many economists say that a rapidly mounting debt load could soon diminish U.S. economic growth, restrict government spending on important programs, and raise the likelihood of financial crises. U.S. lawmakers have been unable to compromise on long-term budget reforms that would tame the debt, and some

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