A big chunk of the growing interest payments American taxpayers make on the federal debt is going to wealthy Americans.

The US national debt just crossed a once-unthinkable threshold on the way toward breaking the record set in the wake of Second World War: it now exceeds 100 per cent of America’s gross domestic product.

As of 31 March, publicly held debt was $31.27 trillion, while America’s GDP in 2025 was $31.22 trillion. This puts the ratio at 100.2 per cent, compared with 99.5 per cent when the last fiscal year ended on 30 September.

That 100.2 per cent figure will likely climb, because the federal government is running historically large annual deficits of nearly 6 per cent of GDP, which add to the debt. The final tally will depend on Iran war spending, tariff refunds and the strength of the economy.

Should we worry? Well, it’s not as if America is heading into a depression. Passing the 100 per cent threshold won’t suddenly cause the world to lose confidence in the dollar.

The real problem is that an increasing portion of the nation’s budget – and tax dollars – is dedicated to paying interest on this growing debt. That’s money we don’t _s_pend on education, healthcare, roads and bridges, social safety nets, or (if we actually needed more spending on it) national........

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