How Trump, Starmer and Macron can avoid a debt crunch
With deficits soaring, their finance ministers will have to be smart
America’s gross national debt is $36trn, or $107,000 per person. It is rising fast and will probably soon be rising even faster. If Donald Trump’s presidential-election campaign was anything to go by, his return to the White House heralds a flurry of tax cuts on everything from corporate profits to tips. In the past fiscal year, Uncle Sam spent $1.8trn (6.4% of GDP) more than he collected in taxes. By one estimate, Mr Trump could raise borrowing by $4.1trn in the coming decade.
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This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Crisis, to be averted”
Finance & economics November 30th 2024
- Trump wastes no time in reigniting trade wars
- American veterans now receive absurdly generous benefits
- Why everyone wants to lend to weak companies
- How Trump, Starmer and Macron can avoid a debt crunch
- Hong Kong’s property slump may be terminal
- The great-man theory of Wall Street
- Why Black Friday sales grow more annoying every year
From the November 30th 2024 edition
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