by Simon Black
Sovereign Man
A few days ago, the federal debt of the United States rather quietly and unceremoniously passed the $19.5 trillion mark.
And while that figure may seem absolutely confounding, what’s even more alarming is how rapidly the US government is racking up this debt.
In fact, for the 2016 fiscal year that ends in just ten more days, the US government’s debt growth of $1.36 trillion is on track to be the third biggest annual increase ever.
The only two years in all of US history that posted higher US debt growth were 2010 and 2011– the peak of the financial crisis.
Even more acutely, last month the US federal debt grew by $151.5 billion.
Not counting the financial crisis, and a few anomalous months following a debt ceiling reset, August 2016 was the single biggest expansion of US debt EVER.