US federal debt is currently almost as large as annual national income, something not seen before the pandemic. Expenditures like interest payments on the debt, military spending, and Social Security cannot be easily trimmed, and the provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs act are likely to be extended, adding an estimated $5 trillion to the debt over the next decade. What are the likely consequences for the economy of rising debt? And how will this affect people’s retirement, especially if there are cuts to Social Security? Wendy Edelberg and Ben Harris join EconoFact Chats to discuss these issues.

Wendy is the director of the Hamilton Project and a Senior Fellow in Economic Studies at The Brookings Institution. She previously served as Chief Economist at the Congressional Budget Office. Ben is the Vice President and Director of Economic Studies at Brookings. He was Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy and Chief Economist at the Treasury Department in the Biden administration.