Representative John James - Republican of Michigan - revealed on his X account, formerly Twitter, that the federal government's debt broke a new record, surpassing $100,000 per person:
The national debt has just exceeded $100,000 per citizen. This should send a message to the White House that this reckless federal spending is at breaking point. That's why I'm working with @SpeakerJohnson and @HouseGOP to curb federal spending.
🚨🚨 US DEBT CRISIS NEWS 🚨🚨
The national debt just exceeded $100,000 per citizen. This should send a message to the White House that this reckless federal spending is at a breaking point.
That's why I'm working with @SpeakerJohnson & @HouseGOP to rein in federal spending.
— Rep. John James (@RepJames) December 4, 2023
The calculation of the rapid growth of the debt resulted from the evaluation of the figure of the national debt level of more than 34 trillion dollars (offered by the Treasury Department) and dividing this data with the number of citizens residing in the country with data from the Census Bureau (336 million people).
The public debt exceeded 33.04 trillion dollars last September. The figure broke a historical record because such a level had never been reached. Four decades ago, the gross public debt did not reach one trillion dollars.
Consumer spending soars
The record of increased debt comes together with another milestone. Consumer spending reached a level not seen since 2010, according to a new WalletHub study using official government data.
In October, Americans spent $1.57 trillion (this reflects an increase of $4.04 billion from September). Likewise, the report revealed that consumers spent more than 81% of their income in a single month on their basic expenses. WalletHub editor John Kiernan stated in a statement:
Even though monthly totals set records, recent spending doesn't appear to be unusually reckless, considering metrics like spending-to-income ratios are in line with historical averages. The general conclusion is that although consumers are spending more than ever, much can be attributed to high inflation, low unemployment and an economy that is stronger than you might think.
