(Photo from Pixabay)
A reader sent me a link to the following:
Jerome Powell says the $39 trillion national debt is ‘not unsustainable,’ but warns the trajectory ‘will not end well’
March 30, 2026
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell offered a sobering assessment of America’s fiscal health on Monday, telling a Harvard economics class that while the nation’s $39 trillion debt load is not immediately dangerous, the path the country is on demands urgent attention from lawmakers.
“The level of the debt is not unsustainable,” Powell said during a wide-ranging conversation before roughly 400 students, “but the path is not sustainable. It will not end well if we don’t do something fairly soon.” https://fortune.com/2026/03/30/jerome-powell-39-trillion-national-debt-not-unsustainable-will-not-end-well/
The idea that the USA cannot continue to sustain its debt has been called out for a long time.
Notice something from 2011:
U.S. Finances Are ‘Unsustainable,’ Obama Says at Facebook
Barack Obama also said that in 2009 (Runningen R, Nichols H. Obama Says U.S. Long-Term Debt Load ‘Unsustainable’. Bloomberg.com May 14, 2009 19:40 EDT. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aJsSb4qtILhg viewed 05/16/09):
In July 2008, then-Senator Barack Obama called it “irresponsible” and “unpatriotic” to borrow more money from China and drive up our national debt. In February 2009, President Obama warned congressional leaders that the rate of government spending was unsustainable with dire economic consequences, and pledged to cut the nation’s deficit in his first term. 02/23/15 https://joewilson.house.gov/media-center/editorials/wilson-editorial-unsustainable-debt-under-president-obama
Something that is unsustainable cannot continue forever.
Notice the following from 2012;
“A nation with our current levels of unsustainable debt … cannot hope to sustain for very long its superiority from a military perspective, or its influence in world affairs,” Admiral Michael Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said http://money.cnn.com/2012/10/22/news/economy/national-security-debt/?source=cnn_bin
Yet, despite concerns, official USA debt continues to rise.
The latest published figure from the US Treasury (which was as of Friday) which I accessed today was $39,015,632,027,421.67 https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/datasets/debt-to-the-penny/debt-to-the-penny.
That was up from January 17, 2025, $36,206,593,315,575.15, which was the last business date for the Biden-Harris Administration.
The Iran war looks to be another factor to further increase the debt.
Despite some political rhetoric, no serious plan to actually reduce the debt is in the works that currently stands a chance to be implemented. The USA never intends to actually pay back all its debt in any fair way.
The rate of increase of the official federal debt has been staggering.
Notice also:
The Debt Spiral That Ends in Dollar Destruction
March 30, 2026
Let’s take a step back and look at the big picture so we can assess the US government’s financial situation, where it’s likely headed, and what these trends could mean. …
Among the biggest expenditures for the US government are so-called entitlements like Social Security and Medicare.
It’s unlikely any politician will cut entitlements. On the contrary, I expect them to continue growing.
That’s because tens of millions of Baby Boomers—about 22% of the population—will enter retirement in the coming years. Cutting Social Security and Medicare is a sure way to lose an election.
The interest on the federal debt is already the second-largest federal expenditure. In a matter of months, it’s set to exceed Social Security and become the biggest expenditure. …
When faced with a choice, politicians always choose the most expedient option.
In this case, that means issuing more debt rather than making tough budget decisions or explicitly defaulting.
Consider the recurring debt ceiling farce in the US Congress, which has been raised over 100 times since 1944. …
In any case, don’t count on increased tax revenue to offset these increases in federal expenditures.
Even if tax rates went to 100%, it still wouldn’t be enough to stop the debt from growing.
According to Forbes, there are around 902 billionaires in the US with a combined net worth of about $6.8 trillion.
The US federal government spent around $7 trillion in FY 2025, and will almost certainly spend a lot more in FY 2026 and beyond.
Even if the US government confiscated 100% of billionaire assets through a wealth tax, it wouldn’t cover even a single year of current federal spending.
And even after confiscating all billionaire wealth, the US government would still have to borrow more than $200 billion to cover FY 2025 spending.
Here’s the bottom line: increasing taxes, even to extreme levels, isn’t going to change the trajectory of this unstoppable trend—even slightly.
The truth is, no matter what happens, the deficits will not stop growing, nor will the debt needed to finance them.
The growth rate is not even going to slow down. It’s going to increase.
That means interest expense on the federal debt will continue exploding higher. …
Ray Dalio is one of the world’s most successful hedge fund managers.
His success is due to his consistent ability to get the Big Picture right.
He recently said this (emphasis mine):
“We are at a point in which we are borrowing money to pay debt service.
When you keep having debt growth faster than income growth, that means you have debt service encroaching on your spending, and you want to keep spending at the same time.
As that happens, there is a need to get more and more into debt. It accelerates.
We are at the point of that acceleration. We are near that inflection point.”
The financial position of the US government has been gradually deteriorating for decades, so it’s not surprising that many people are complacent. They’ve long heard about the debt problem, and nothing has happened.
However, it is now reaching the tipping point.
That’s because the US government is now borrowing money to pay the interest on the money it has already borrowed, as Dalio noted. Politicians are adding more debt to solve the problems of prior debt. It’s creating a self-perpetuating doom loop. https://internationalman.com/articles/the-debt-spiral-that-ends-in-dollar-destruction-6-hard-truths-america-can-no-longer-ignore/
Last year, Michael Snyder posted:
January 23, 2025
Government debt is at the very core of the system, and our federal government is now trapped in a debt spiral from which it can never possibly escape … Our national debt has been rising at an exponential rate, and that will continue to be the case until either the current system collapses or we adopt an entirely new system. https://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/11-reasons-why-the-federal-reserve-is-bad-2/
Notice also the following:
There is no escape from debt. Paying for the government’s fictitious promises in paper money will result in a constantly depreciating currency, thereby impoverishing those who earn a wage or have savings. Inflation is the hidden tax, and it is very convenient for governments because they always blame shops or businesses and present themselves as the solution by printing even more currency. …
Kamala Harris promises tax deductions for start-ups and first-time homebuyers, as well as families with children. It is hilarious. Inflation, a hidden tax, consumes their earnings and savings, while high direct and indirect taxes absorb the remaining funds. Despite this, she promises a tax deduction that most small businesses will never take advantage of, as they will shut down before generating any profit.
The Treasury expects a $16 trillion increase in public debt between 2024 and 2034, without taking into account any recession risk. The enormous government debt of $35 trillion, along with its subsequent additions, has the potential to destroy the currency. 09/19/24 https://quoththeraven.substack.com/p/an-unprecedented-monetary-destruction
Yes, the currency of the USA will be destroyed.
Debt will end in disaster for the USA.
The time will come, according to Bible prophecy, when the nations of the world will no longer accept the pledges (US Treasury Bills and Notes) of the indebted one:
2 Then the Lord answered me and said:
“Write the vision
And make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it.
3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time;
But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.
Though it tarries, wait for it;
Because it will surely come,
It will not tarry. (Habakkuk 2:2-3)
Notice that the word of God states it will tarry, take a while, but the results will surely come. And that the result is that people should run (flee) because of it.
Here are some details about what is coming and why:
6 “Will not all these take up a proverb against him,
And a taunting riddle against him, and say,
‘Woe to him who increases
What is not his — how long?
And to him who loads himself with many pledges’?
7 Will not your creditors rise up suddenly?
Will they not awaken who oppress you?
And you will become their booty.
8 Because you have plundered many nations,
All the remnant of the people shall plunder you,
Because of men’s blood
And the violence of the land and the city,
And of all who dwell in it. (Habakkuk 2:6-8).
Please pay attention to the fact that that above is a prophecy for the appointed time of the end–essentially the time of the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21). The USA has been accumulating pledges in the form of US Treasury bonds and notes, and is the most indebted nation of all time. It is descendants of Israel, like the USA, that are prophesied to have debt issues with foreigners if they turn from God’s laws (cf. Deuteronomy 28:43-44)–that is consistent with Habakkuk 2:6-8. The above prophecy is NOT a reference to the nation calling itself Israel as it has nothing compared to USA debt.
As far as how much the USA is indebted to foreigners, notice the following:
Foreign creditors already hold a net claim of $22.5 trillion (and growing) on U.S. assets. Many of these creditors will be inclined to sell American stocks and bonds rather than buy more — especially if they are encouraged by Trump to raise cash to buy American exports. Foreign producers who, for decades, have exchanged their manufactured goods for American stocks and bonds would stop reinvesting export earnings. (Amoss D. From Biden to Trump: Navigating the Economic Ship Through Troubled Waters. Jim Rickard’s Strategic Intelligence, December 2024, p. 10)
The USA has been setting itself up for the penalties prophesied by Habakkuk.
Notice that the prophecy in Habakkuk says what will happen is so bad, that people should run who read it. That is, they should seriously consider what this means and take the appropriate steps.
Foreign creditors will rise up.
The Bible clearly warns that an indebted people will be destroyed by people whose language that they do not understand, and that the destruction will be fairly total:
43 The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. 44 He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail. 45 Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed…47 “Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, 48 therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you. 49 The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand, 50 a nation of fierce countenance, which does not respect the elderly nor show favor to the young. 51 And they shall eat the increase of your livestock and the produce of your land, until you are destroyed; they shall not leave you grain or new wine or oil, or the increase of your cattle or the offspring of your flocks, until they have destroyed you. 52 They shall besiege you at all your gates until your high and fortified walls, in which you trust, come down throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you at all your gates throughout all your land which the LORD your God has given you (Deuteronomy 28:43-45,47-52).
7 The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender. (Proverbs 22:7)
13 And the Lord said, “Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, nor walked according to it, 14 but they have walked according to the dictates of their own hearts…16 I will scatter them also among the Gentiles, whom neither they nor their fathers have known. And I will send a sword after them until I have consumed them.” (Jeremiah 9:13,14a,16)
12 One-third of you shall die of the pestilence, and be consumed with famine in your midst; and one-third shall fall by the sword all around you; and I will scatter another third to all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them. (Ezekiel 5:12)
Most will not believe, but that was expected:
6 “Don’t say such things,” the people respond. “Don’t prophesy like that. Such disasters will never come our way!” (Micah 2:6, New Living Translation)
16 … You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel, And do not spout against the house of Isaac.’ (Amos 7:16)
People will not want to hear or believe! See also Preparing for the ‘Short Work’ and The Famine of the Word.
In 2026, the Continuing Church of God put out this sermon on its ContinuingCOG channel:
Habakkuk: Faith, USA’s End, & Jesus’ Return
In this sermon video, Dr. Thiel goes over each and every verse of the Book of Habakkuk. He also quotes other supportive verses in the Old and Testaments, certain Church of God writings, and even the Dead Sea Scroll ‘Commentary on Habakkuk.’ He spends time on the background of Habakkuk, how to live by faith, and prophetic matters. He explains why he believes that Habakkuk 2:2-8 is related to the coming destruction of the USA by creditors, why that is not a reference to the end of end-time Chaldean /Babylon, and that Habakkuk 2:9-17 is referring to peoples and a different time period than the earlier portion of the chapter (which relates to the beginning of the appointed time of the end). Scriptures related to the destruction of the European ‘daughter of Babylon’ by a Russian-led, Asian multi-national force, as well as the return of Jesus are cited.
Here is a link to the sermon: Habakkuk: Faith, USA’s End, & Jesus’ Return.
Watch also the following from 2023:
Here is a link to our video: And the Debt Goes On…
The amount of debt increase has been accelerating.
But just like people in the stadium analogy, things will look relatively well until they are not.
The Bible is clear that the USA will be taken over (cf. Daniel 11:39) and debt will be a factor per Habakkuk 2:6-8.
The Bible tells of a time when the most faithful will flee (Revelation 12:14-17)–but also that people should be “gathered together” before that happens (Zephaniah 2:1-3).
More on that can be found in the article: There is a Place of Safety for the Philadelphians. Why it May Be Near Petra.
Some items of possibly related interest may include:
HABAKKUK Here is a link to the article Commentary on Habakkuk and the End of the United States. God gave Habakkuk a message on living by faith. Did God give a prophecy concerning debt and the destruction of the United States? This article covers the entire Book of Habakkuk. Here is a link to a related sermon: Habakkuk: Faith, USA’s End, & Jesus’ Return.
The End of US Dollar Dominance Is the USA losing its economic status? What about the petro-gold-yuan? A related video is also available: US Dollar being challenged by Gold-Petro-Yuan.
Is God Calling You? This booklet discusses topics including calling, election, and selection. If God is calling you, how will you respond? Here is are links to related sermons: Christian Election: Is God Calling YOU? and Predestination and Your Selection. A short animation is also available: Is God Calling You?
Spiritual Samaritans: Old and New Who were the Samaritans? Do the represent true Christianity or something else? Here is a link to a related sermon: USA in Prophecy: Samaria.Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies for the Great Monarch point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin? When does the Bible show that economic collapse will affect the United States? In the Spanish language check out ¿Quién es el Rey del Norte? Here is a link to a video titled: The Future King of the North.
USA in Prophecy: The Strongest Fortresses Can you point to scriptures, like Daniel 11:39, that point to the USA in the 21st century? This article does. Two related sermon are available: Identifying the USA and its Destruction in Prophecy and Do these 7 prophesies point to the end of the USA?
Who is the King of the West? Why is there no Final End-Time King of the West in Bible Prophecy? Is the United States the King of the West? Here is a version in the Spanish language: ¿Quién es el Rey del Occidente? ¿Por qué no hay un Rey del Occidente en la profecía del tiempo del fin? A related sermon is also available: The Bible, the USA, and the King of the West.
Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America? Where did those people come from? Can you totally rely on DNA? Do you really know what will happen to Europe and the English-speaking peoples? What about the peoples of Africa, Asia, South America, and the islands? This free online book provides scriptural, scientific, historical references, and commentary to address those matters. Here are links to related sermons: Lost tribes, the Bible, and DNA; Lost tribes, prophecies, and identifications; 11 Tribes, 144,000, and Multitudes; Israel, Jeremiah, Tea Tephi, and British Royalty; Gentile European Beast; Royal Succession, Samaria, and Prophecies; Asia, Islands, Latin America, Africa, and Armageddon; When Will the End of the Age Come?; Rise of the Prophesied King of the North; Christian Persecution from the Beast; WWIII and the Coming New World Order; and Woes, WWIV, and the Good News of the Kingdom of God.