The national debt is rising faster than ever and threatens to undermine confidence in the economy, experts warn.

The U.S. government’s gross national debt surpassed $38 trillion on Wednesday—just two months after it reached $37 trillion—which comes as the government continues to navigate the federal shutdown.

In just a little over two months, the national debt swelled by $1 trillion. This is twice as fast as the rate of growth since 2000, Michael Peterson says.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget is glum: "The reality is that we’re becoming distressingly numb to our own dysfunction."

The U.S. national debt surpassed $38 trillion for the first time this week, growing at a record pace driven by spending stemming from the aging population and elevated interest costs.

The sovereign wealth fund will lead negotiations for the debt restructuring of Whoosh, the country's first high-speed rail

Outside the tour, online anger spilled into real life. The chief economist from StoneX Group, a financial services firm, was bombarded with online threats after the company pegged the U.S. corn crop at 16.334 billion bushels on Aug. 4.

Nationwide student lunch debt has soared to nearly $200 million per year, according to a report released in August by the Education Data Initiative. In Utah, it's almost $4 million. As the bills mount, everyday Utahns are stepping up to make sure no child goes hungry.

Gabriel Filer moved back home to Connecticut at age 26. Saving aggressively helped him pay off his student loans and move to Australia in 2024.

Investors buying stocks with borrowed money suggests confidence that the market will keep rising. If only that were true.