Don't think US national debt impacts you? It already has.

America’s debt has crossed a striking threshold: it’s now bigger than the economy itself . Questions about what that means start to take shape when interest enters the picture. As the cost of carrying debt grows, its impact becomes harder to ignore. So, what should we do about the national debt, and just how worried should we really be? Marc Goldwein, senior policy director at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, joins The Excerpt to talk about the impact of the scale of U.S. borrowing and what it likely means for future generations. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com . Episode transcript available here . See Privacy Policy at and California Privacy Notice at .

You can listen to Don't think US national debt impacts you? It already has. online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Don't think US national debt impacts you? It already has. is an episode from 5 Things by USA TODAY The Excerpt.

This episode is 00:11:09 long.

This episode was published on May 19, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from 5 Things when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.