THE U.S. federal government’s public debt has skyrocketed to an unprecedented US$35 trillion, smashing the record set just months ago and sending fresh worries to the global market. Data from the U.S. Treasury Department released Monday afternoon local time showed that the gross national debt hit US$35 trillion, equating to US$104,497 per person in the country. The alarming milestone comes just months after the U.S. debt surpassed the US$34 trillion threshold in early January, and the US$33 trillion mark in September last year, the Global Times reported. By comparison, the U.S. national debt hovered around US$907 billion four decades ago. The colossal debt has drawn fresh warnings from within the U.S. “We are going to have to get serious about the debt, and soon. Election years cannot be an exception for trying to prevent completely foreseeable dangers — and the debt is one of the major dangers we are facing,” Maya MacGuineas, president of the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said in a statement, as quoted by the Global Times. Chinese analysts said that although the U.S. could get away with the debt issue in the short and medium term with various arrangements such as constantly raising its debt ceiling, there are rising global concerns about the U.S. debt. Song Guoyou, deputy director of the Center for American Studies, Fudan University, compared the ballooning U.S. debt to a barrier lake that hangs above the heads of everyone. “We must stay alert to the possibility of a U.S. financial crisis, or even an economic crisis stemming from its rising debt,” Song said. Ma Wei, a research fellow at the Institute of American Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that growing market worries over the debt have caused many U.S. debt holders to lose confidence, and many have begun to slash their holdings in recent years. Observers said that the rapid increase in U.S. debt was caused by the spending spree of the U.S. government following the COVID-19 pandemic, while there had been no notable increase in U.S. government revenue, resulting in a widening fiscal deficit. The next U.S. president will face fiscal deadlines that loom next year, with one of the first such deadlines to arrive Jan. 1, when the current suspension of the debt limit is set to expire. By then, U.S. lawmakers will be forced to debate another increase or suspension of the debt ceiling and potentially fiscal reforms, while the Treasury Department uses extraordinary measures to avoid a default for a period of several months. In June 2023, the U.S. Congress approved the 103rd debt ceiling raise in the country since 1945 after months of partisan arm-wrestling. The bill allowed the U.S. government to avert a debt default by borrowing more. Analysts added that the issue of piling up debt will further damage the U.S. dollar’s status as the global reserve currency, which is already showing worrying signs. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned earlier in the month, testifying before the House Financial Services Committee, that one of her concerns is how best to protect the international status of the U.S. dollar as U.S. sanctions have pushed more countries to seek alternative financial transaction methods, according to media reports. (SD-Agencies) | 