Washington [US], October 24: CBS News yesterday cited data from the US Treasury Department showing that the country's public debt exceeded the threshold of 38,000 billion USD for the first time in the context of the government not yet reopening.
A government shutdown could further increase public debt by delaying economic activity and disrupting fiscal decisions, while stopping and restarting federal programs is also costly to implement.
"The fact that the US public debt reached $38 trillion at the time of the government shutdown is the latest worrying sign that lawmakers are not living up to their fiscal responsibilities," CBS News quoted Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation (New York). Mr. Peterson said that the public debt just passed the $37 trillion mark two months ago, and the rate of US public debt is increasing twice as fast as the increase since 2000.
AFP also reported yesterday that US federal government employees had to line up to receive food aid in Maryland, right next to Washington DC. According to media estimates, more than 600,000 federal employees have been affected by the government shutdown.
In this context, US House Speaker Mike Johnson admitted on October 22 that the Republican Party's message was becoming outdated, and that it might need to adjust its strategy. Later in the day, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (Democrat) said he hoped the current stalemate could be resolved by the end of this month, but according to observers, this will not be easy because the Democrats have not yet shown signs of giving in to their demands.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper