How Did America Get $40 Trillion in Debt?

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, and Nick Gillespie are joined by Reason Senior Editor Robby Soave to discuss the national debt hitting $40 trillion and whether decades of fiscal irresponsibility are finally beginning to have consequences. They examine how the debt doubled in less than a decade, why federal spending continues to outpace revenue, and whether turmoil in the bond market could force politicians to take deficits seriously. They also consider why both parties abandoned the fiscal restraint that helped produce balanced budgets in the 1990s and what it would take to reverse course.

The editors also discuss President Donald Trump's escalating trade war with Canada and his administration's refusal to return tariff revenue collected illegally, the growing bipartisan backlash against AI data centers, and whether economic growth can realistically help America escape its debt problem. They examine the government's case against Meta and the latest effort to blame social media for harms to children, then turn to calls for restrictions on journalists following the death of Cambridge professor Jason Arday. Finally, a listener asks whether AI could shrink the federal workforce and dramatically reduce the cost of government.

Celebrate the Reason Roundtable's 10th Anniversary Live in NYC on October 7

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Producer: Paul Alexander

Video Editor: Ian Keyser

Illustrations: Adani Samat