WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - National Security Matters: National Debt

Episode Date: November 16, 2025

On this episode, Malia Thibado discusses how America is facing a national debt crisis: what it is, how it's affecting Americans, and how it's affecting our ability to thrive both economically and security-wise. 

Hello and welcome to National Security Matters, this show where we discuss anything and everything related to U.S. international relations and defense policy. I'm your host, Malia Tibodeau. Did you know the United States is currently $38 trillion in debt? This is relevant as both a domestic and national security concern, which has only gotten worse as the last few administrations, are spending more and more. Let's talk about it. So what does it mean to be $38 trillion in debt? Well, it means that the U.S. government owes that much money to the public

or to its own individual agencies. The U.S.'s Q4-2020 debt-d debt-to-GDP ratio was 125%, meaning our debt was 25% larger than the GDP. To put that in perspective, our ally Japan is actually the most in debt. country in the world at 230 percent debt to GDP with only seven other countries, including Sudan, Greece, and Italy between it and the U.S. While these countries have higher debt ratios, the U.S. being so high on the list is a particular concern because of its position in the global economic market. Most economists will evaluate

meaningful debt as that which is held by the public, domestic, and foreign investors, which as of October 2025, is 30.4 trillion, around 80% of the total debt. 32% of that debt is held by foreign investors. It's quite a large increase from 1970, where foreign investment made up only around $5.14 billion of that annual debt. The 2025 number is actually considered a decrease in investment in 2011. it was 49%. Slowed foreign investment is a factor, but the main driver is that the domestic government

is borrowing more domestically for things like the 2008 recession in COVID-19. According to the U.S. Department of Treasury, the three largest overseas investors are Japan, the UK, and China. Japan and the UK make up $2 trillion, while China makes up $756 billion. Though that these investments have decreased within the past several years, it's important

we keep an eye on these because foreign investors holding our debt means a portion of our annual income goes abroad and not back into the growth of our own economy. Additionally, that country now has more leverage over us and our financial markets with which to negotiate. Having high debt also means a massive proportion of our income is going to domestic interest payments rather than being allocated to things like, for national security purposes, the defense budget. For example, the 2024 military defense budget was $884 billion, while our interest rate repayments were $970 billion. Our debt also degrades American

prestige and the security of the U.S. dollar. Right now, the dollar is what's called the global currency of account, meaning it's seen as the most stable slash best currency to hold wealth in. A number of central banks over the globe have their wealth in dollars, and 11 other countries, aside from the U.S. and its overseas territories, use the dollar as official currency. Gold, oil, and other precious resources are also usually traded in dollars. If we were to default on this debt, it would be, it would end to the same. up being a global economic catastrophe. Even in 1929, before we'd grown into our post-World War II behemoth, the American Great Depression extended to a European one and also contributed to

Asia's financial issues. Imagine that, but what would happen now? Our national debt is a bipartisan issue. While Biden added 8.4 trillion during his four years, Trump added 7.8 trillion in his term and his big beautiful bill alone could raise the deficit by another 5 trillion in the next four years. We need to pay attention to this not only because of the global ramifications, but because of the impact it has on us as everyday people of the United States. This has been Malia Tibido with National Security Matters on WRFH Radio Free Hillsdale 101.1.7 FM. Thank you.