However, neither household nor business debt has grown as much as debt issued by government. Debt growth for state and local government has ballooned 56.1 percent since the end of 2007, while federal government debt is up a whopping 123.1 percent (Chart 1). Given the severity of the recession, some deficit spending is understandable, as a spur to economic growth. However, the torrid pace of debt growth by the federal government may become a significant risk to the economy in the not-too-distant future.
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1. Overview
2. Economy
3. Policy
4. Investing