Is our national debt finally too much? (update)
Planet Money
- Published
- September 23, 2026
- Duration
- 29:49
- Summary source
- description
- Last updated
- Oct 21, 2026
Discusses (Note: A version of this episode originally ran in 2024.)$40,000,000,000,000. Four commas. Thirteen …
Summary
(Note: A version of this episode originally ran in 2024.)$40,000,000,000,000. Four commas. Thirteen zeroes. It’s an eye-popping, almost infinite-sounding pile of money. And every time the debt passes a big round number, almost everyone asks the same question: How much debt is too much?It’s maybe the most important question in macroeconomics. It’s also sur…
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Show notes
(Note: A version of this episode originally ran in 2024.)$40,000,000,000,000. Four commas. Thirteen zeroes. It’s an eye-popping, almost infinite-sounding pile of money. And every time the debt passes a big round number, almost everyone asks the same question: How much debt is too much?It’s maybe the most important question in macroeconomics. It’s also surprisingly hard to answer. When two economists tried to answer it back in 2010, it ignited a research slugfest that lasted a decade. We did a sh