In a recent interview, financial expert Dave Ramsey shared his views on the national debt, which often feels both abstract and daunting to many. Ramsey explained how the national debt, currently at a staggering $34 trillion, impacts the economy in ways that aren’t immediately obvious.

Theo Von, who interviewed Ramsey, touched on a common sentiment: “You always hear about the national debt, right? People always talk about that, and it keeps going up. It almost seems so fictional. Is it a real thing that could cause something to happen in our lives?”

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Ramsey shared his thoughts honestly, recalling how he used to worry about the debt growing so fast in his late 20s. Back then, he feared it might cause the economy to collapse. However, he pointed out that even though many people predicted disaster, those terrible outcomes haven’t happened.

“Is it concerning? Yeah, it’s concerning because anytime a group of people, us, keep spending more than we make and we keep electing people that don’t have any ability to curb their appetite for our money, it’s … philosophically, spiritually scary. Mathematically it’s scary. Is it going to cause a crash? Apparently not.”

Ramsey explained how the national debt directly impacts the economy by diverting money away from productive uses. “What the national debt does, factually, is it robs money from the economy that could be producing something.”

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He explained that the government borrows money by selling Treasury bonds. Investors buy these bonds because they get paid interest. But if those investors had used their money in the marketplace instead of buying government bonds, it would have helped the economy grow more “rather than sit on this bunch of fat in DC.”

“It’s stealing money from the economy in that sense, and the interest on it is becoming a larger and larger portion of the ‘budget,’ as if they’ve got a budget.”

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Despite his worries about the national debt, Ramsey still believes the stock market is safe to invest. He admitted that there are lies and tricks in the market, but he confidently said, “I do [think it’s still a safe place for people to invest]. I’ve got millions and millions of dollars in mutual funds.”

The State Of The National Debt Today

Right now, the national debt is at a record $34 trillion. This number is so huge that it’s hard to understand. To help imagine it, if you counted to 34 trillion at one number per second, it would take over a million years. 

Most importantly, this huge figure means the government has to spend a large part of its budget on interest payments, which limits its ability to invest in important areas like infrastructure, education, and health care.

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