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The surprising way that America’s $40 trillion debt costs you

Rising debt makes loans and credit cards more expensive at a time when affordability is top-of-mind for many Americans.

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America’s national debt cleared $40 trillion for the first time ever on Wednesday, a number so comically large as to feel imaginary. Seriously — look at it in all of its comma-strewn glory: $40,203,821,194,241. And because the US racks up tens of thousands of dollars of new debt every second, that number was outdated even as I typed it.

A daily, curiosity-driven guide to the big, weird, and fascinating ideas shaping the news cycle.

On some level, the steady ballooning of the national debt is basic math, familiar to anyone with a budget of their own. The government’s expenses — particularly the costs of Social Security and Medicare — are growing, while successive rounds of........

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