The national debt has officially hit $40 trillion, a figure so large it's basically a number only economists and people who owe money to the mob can appreciate. The milestone arrives just as the influence of deficit hawks in Congress has, shall we say, flown south for the winter - probably to a nice, tax-friendly location.

So, is $40 trillion scarier than $39 trillion? NPR's Eric McDaniel asked the tough questions so we don't have to. The answer: it's not the number itself, but the fact that the debt is now bigger than the entire U.S. economy. And while debt isn't inherently evil - think of it as a mortgage on a house, except the house is a country - the trajectory is concerning. The government projects debt will grow twice as fast as the economy over the next decade. Also, we're using debt to pay for regular stuff, not grand projects like a new highway system or tackling climate change. Labor economist Kathryn Anne Edwards put it bluntly: "We are not building a federal highway system. We are not tackling climate change. We are not making generational investments in children." Instead, we're just paying for the usual, plus interest. Speaking of which, about a fifth of all U.S. tax revenue now goes to servicing the debt. That's a lot of money that could have been, say, a universal preschool.

How did we get here? In 2000, we were on track to pay off the national debt entirely. Twenty-six years later, we're here. The shocking answer: we spent more money. Automatic increases in Social Security, plus wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and stimulus packages after the 2008 crisis and during the pandemic. Then, Congress decided to take in less money. Republicans pushed through huge tax cuts that didn't grow the economy enough to offset the revenue loss. Conservative economist Jessica Riedl at Brookings summed it up: "It's just been a yearly drumbeat of spending increases and tax cuts."

Now, solutions. Republicans want to cut spending on government programs, but math is tricky. The president's One Big Beautiful Bill cut tax revenue by $4.5 trillion over 10 years but only cut spending by about $1 trillion - so it actually adds to the debt. Democrats want to invest in social programs like childcare to grow the tax base. Edwards suggests universal preschool as a magic wand to boost parents' incomes. But she also says we have to raise taxes. Riedl agrees, but insists on spending cuts too, especially for Social Security and Medicare - the untouchables of American politics. "You really can't fix the deficit without addressing Social Security and Medicare," she said. No painless solutions, folks. Everyone's ox is getting gored.

As for deficit hawks? They're an endangered species. The new Senate Budget Committee chairman, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, says he'll be vocal about wanting things paid for, but he supported the One Big Beautiful Bill that dramatically increases the debt. He called it "immoral" and "grotesque" - his words - but voted for it anyway after the president promised future spending cuts. We'll see how that works out. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC the White House will devise a plan, but there's no simple way to fill a $2 trillion hole in the annual budget. That's roughly what Congress appropriates each year for typical federal spending. So, we'll keep on keeping on, apparently.