WASHINGTON (AP) — The national debt surpassed a record $40 trillion on Wednesday, a staggering milestone as defense costs, social programs like Social Security and Medicare and interest on the burgeoning deficit make up an enormous share of federal spending.

The milestone figure was recorded just five months after the U.S. hit a record $39 trillion debt in March. It reached $38 trillion five months before that, in October.

The unprecedented $40 trillion figure highlights competing administration priorities, from boosting defense spending that the U.S. relies on to carry out President Donald Trump’s almost-6-month-old war in Iran to lowering the cost of gas and groceries.

Kush Desai, a White House spokesman, said the Trump administration “has been focused on slashing waste, fraud, and abuse in federal spending while accelerating economic growth to get America’s debt-to-GDP ratio trending in the right direction.”

  • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.worldOP
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    1 day ago

    When I read this headline, I remember the interview in Donald’s first term where he went on for five minutes about a ‘beautiful piece of chocolate cake’. We’re going to see a slew of books about the vulgar extent to which he enriched himself and his stupid fucking kids after he dies, but sadly, not before.

    The US is nothing more than a giant ATM for a handful of people operated by a toddler.

    • nomad@infosec.pub
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      15 hours ago

      Do you understand how big and complex the machinery of people is that is required to enable Trump and his family? There is a reason this is called crony capitalism. Trump is the big ugly loud stinking straw man of the operation. All those that have enriched themselves around him , nobody will talk about them. They enable him and parade him around, just as he likes it and likea the rich old asshole he is, they can roughly game out when he will die and get out of the game before that splashes right back into their faces. Only the strawmen will be left standing to burn for his misdeeds.

      Those are the people sniffing his full diaper and pretending its not stinking and full because any minute they stay and keep the show going is a minute they helps corrupt the system and enrich themselves.

    • RyanDownyJr@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      Ya know, I’ve said the insult before calling him a toddler, but I’m not sure that really sticks anymore. In the sense of, a toddler doesn’t know right from wrong yet…

  • Bustedknuckles@lemmy.world
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    18 hours ago

    Trillion here, trillion there, pretty soon it ends up being real money! The amount actually matters less than how much it costs to service the debt. I think it’s about to surpass all of medicare in the upcoming budget

  • lmdnw@lemmy.world
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    24 hours ago

    Money is fake. The dollar can be continuously created up to the market value of the resources the US controls. When it exceeds that, then I’ll worry.