How fast is the national debt growing?

The US national debt grows by approximately $5-7 billion per day, or about $73,000 per second. This rate varies based on government spending, tax revenue, and interest payments on existing debt.

Who do we owe the national debt to?

About 77% of US debt is held by the public: foreign governments (Japan and China are the largest holders), US investors, banks, insurance companies, pension funds, and individual investors. The remaining 23% is held by government agencies like Social Security and the Federal Reserve.

What happens if we don't pay back the debt?

A US debt default would trigger a global financial crisis. Treasury bonds are considered the safest assets worldwide—they back pensions, bank reserves, and international trade.

How is working lives calculated?

We divide the total national debt by the lifetime earnings of an average American worker. Lifetime earnings = average annual wage ($68,487 per SSA data) × 40 years of work = $2,739,476.

Why measure debt in time instead of dollars?

Dollars can be printed—and are, constantly. Time cannot. Measuring debt in working lives shows the true cost: human labor that must eventually pay it back through taxes, inflation, or reduced services.

Lifetime Theft

A National Debt Calculator

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Lifetimes of labor to repay

U.S. National Debt

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Accumulation Rate

+$73,000/sec

Scroll to explore ↓

Section 01

The 1 in 24 Ratio

1 in 24 Americans would need to surrender their entire lifetime of earnings to the Treasury to clear the balance today.

That's roughly 14 million careers dedicated entirely to debt repayment. Every paycheck, for a lifetime.

Formula: Working Lives = National Debt ÷ (Avg Annual Wage × 40 years)

Sources: US Treasury (debt), SSA (wages — $68,487 AWI 2024), World Bank (population). Most workers earn significantly less than the lifetime average required.

Section 02

The Generational Weight

Debt per person by generation — and it only accelerates.

Debt per person when each generation entered the workforce (~age 18-22), using midpoint US debt ÷ US population at the time.

Boomers (~1964-82): ~$650B ÷ 200M · Gen X (~1983-98): ~$3.5T ÷ 250M · Millennials (~1999-2014): ~$11.7T ÷ 295M · Gen Z (~2015-2030): ~$27T ÷ 330M

Source: US Treasury historical debt, US Census Bureau

Section 03

What Is Your Share?

Years of Bondage

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years of your income to clear your taxpayer share

The national debt divided by ~153M taxpayers = your share. How many years of your salary to pay it off?

Formula: (National Debt ÷ US Taxpayers) ÷ Your Annual Salary = Years to repay your share

US Taxpayers: ~153M (IRS). Debt per taxpayer is divided by your entered salary.

Section 04

The Interest Alone

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annual salaries just to service the interest

Every dollar of interest is a dollar that built nothing, hired no one, and solved no problem.

Interest: Sum of trailing 12 months from US Treasury Monthly Statement of the Public Debt.

Salaries: Annual interest ÷ SSA average wage ($68,487).

Section 05

The Opportunity Cost

This money was spent. Did you experience the value?

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median-priced homes

Homes: $417K median (NAR 2024) · Teachers: $66K avg salary (BLS 2024)

Healthcare: $14,570/person × 335M (CMS 2024) · Roads: $11M/mile highway (FHWA)

Section 06

Historical Trajectory

Working Lives Over Time

+2,588

Working lives added per day

38M

Incomes needed to hold debt steady

Source: US Treasury fiscal data API, daily debt figures. Working lives calculated using SSA average wage × 40 years.

Live counters use a 60-day trailing average growth rate, reconciled when official data publishes.

What if money couldn't be printed?

Every section above traces back to a single mechanism: the unlimited expansion of the money supply. Debt grows because there is no constraint on creating new dollars. The cost is measured in lifetimes — your lifetime.

US National Debt

$36T+

↑ Growing — no limit

Bitcoin Supply

21M

— Fixed — forever

Debt per Bitcoin

—

+0% YTD

Time-Preserving Money

Bitcoin doesn't promise to make you rich. It promises that no government, no central bank, and no emergency can dilute the hours you've already worked.

When money can be printed, savings erode. Wages lag. Debt balloons. The cost is always paid in time — and the people paying it never voted for it.

In a world of infinite debt, scarcity is the exit.

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