The U.S. government just closed the books on Fiscal Year 2026. The final budget report card, to be perfectly frank, is the stuff of banana republics.
The deficit for the year came in at $1.992 trillion. This gap between government revenue and government spending was made up with debt.
Moreover, this $1.992 trillion in new debt was racked and stacked on top of the gross national debt. Several months ago, the national debt blew past $40 trillion. The last we checked it was clocked at a crisp $40.38 trillion.
Does anyone care? The economy keeps churning. Washington keeps spending. And stocks continue to maintain their sky-high valuations.
Yet, while everyone was marveling at the promise of AI and complaining about the price of ground beef, the underlying mechanics of America’s debt machine fundamentally shifted. At the start of the decade, we were still in an era of near-zero interest rates. Borrowing trillions was practically free.
Now, in late-2026, the low-rate era is officially dead. What’s more, the bill for decades of living on credit has finally come due. Continue reading








