Morning Note

The U.S. national debt rocketed to a new record high on Tuesday, surpassing $37 trillion less than eight months after reaching $36 trillion for the first time in history. 

The metrics to bring this milestone into perspective are even more jarring than you may expect. If the debt were split evenly, each citizen would owe over $100,000. A $37 trillion stack of $100 bills would cover over 22,000 miles. We’re on the verge of spending $1 trillion annually on debt interest costs alone. 

It’s hard to imagine this being sustainable, but it’s also unlikely to change any time soon. Washington has made no legitimate effort to rein in the debt this entire century. We hope their recklessness doesn’t turn the United States into Venezuela. 

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