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Government debt is typically measured as the gross debt of the general government sector that is in the form of liabilities that are debt instruments. [2]: 207 A debt instrument is a financial claim that requires payment of interest and/or principal by the debtor to the creditor in the future.
It is often discussed in public economics, especially with regard to transition economics, [3] social policy, and government budget-making. [4] Many cite the growing U.S. national debt as an example of intergenerational inequity, as future generations will shoulder the consequences.
Rising government debt levels have seemingly always been in the headlines. In recent years, U.S. debt levels have become political, with one side of the aisle often refusing to raise the debt limit...
The 2011 S&P downgrade was the first time the US federal government was given a rating below AAA. S&P had announced a negative outlook on the AAA rating in April 2011. The downgrade to AA+ occurred four days after the 112th United States Congress voted to raise the debt ceiling of the federal government by means of the Budget Control Act of 2011 on August 2, 2011.
The European debt crisis is a crisis affecting several eurozone countries since the end of 2009. [7] [8] Member states affected by this crisis were unable to repay their government debt or to bail out indebted financial institutions without the assistance of third-parties (namely the International Monetary Fund, European Commission, and the European Central Bank).
Austerity measures are typically pursued if there is a threat that a government cannot honour its debt obligations. This may occur when a government has borrowed in currencies that it has no right to issue, for example a South American country that borrows in US dollars.
The ratio is higher if the total national debt is used, by adding the "intragovernmental debt" to the "debt held by the public." For example, on April 29, 2016, debt held by the public was approximately $13.84 trillion (~$17.2 trillion in 2023) or about 76% of GDP.
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