Jerome Powell says the $39 trillion national debt is 'not unsustainable,' but warns the trajectory 'will not end well' [View all]
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell offered a sobering assessment of America’s fiscal health on Monday, telling a Harvard economics class that while the nation’s $39 trillion debt load is not immediately dangerous, the path the country is on demands urgent attention from lawmakers.
“The level of the debt is not unsustainable,” Powell said during a wide-ranging conversation before roughly 400 students, “but the path is not sustainable. It will not end well if we don’t do something fairly soon.”
The remarks extend a consistent warning Powell has sounded for years, that while the debt level is manageable in the short term, the fiscal trajectory is absolutely not. His comments also came as the average national gas price neared $4 per gallon amid a war in Iran that shows no signs of resolving soon, despite President Trump’s remarks about a potential end to hostilities.
Powell was careful to draw a distinction between the stock of debt and its trajectory, noting that the U.S., as the world’s reserve currency issuer and home to the deepest capital markets on earth, can sustain a large debt load in ways smaller economies cannot.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/savingandinvesting/jerome-powell-says-the-39-trillion-national-debt-is-not-unsustainable-but-warns-the-trajectory-will-not-end-well/ar-AA1ZKEgD
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