The Washington Post reported that US authorities may have to take unpopular measures to address the country's record public debt, which has exceeded $40 trillion.
The newspaper stated in its report: "With the national debt exceeding $40 trillion, lawmakers may soon be forced to make long-awaited decisions that will affect almost all Americans."
She added: "Year after year, the federal government has spent more than it has collected in taxes. And each year, the deficit has increased the national debt, slowly at first and then in huge leaps, despite warnings that repayment was imminent. And now, that repayment may be near."
Adam Abbas, a specialist at the US investment firm Oakmark Funds, said: "The debt market is sending us a signal that we will have to make decisions that will negatively impact economic growth."
He added, referring to measures aimed at reducing borrowing and the US government's debt: "We have two tools to achieve this: raising taxes and cutting spending. Both options are politically undesirable, and never will be, but at some point we will have to address this issue."
Mark Goldon, senior vice president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a non-profit organization that analyzes public finances, expressed his concern, saying: "I fear we are about to enter a debt spiral, which occurs when debt interest payments increase at a faster pace than the economy grows."
The report confirmed that the United States spends nearly $1 trillion annually on interest payments to its national debt.
This week, the US national debt surpassed a record high of $40 trillion , an increase of $20 trillion in less than 10 years.
According to the Peterson Institute for International Economics, without reforming government spending or taxes, the country's debt could reach $50 trillion within 6 years.
