John Oliver tries to explain whether you should worry about the enormous U.S. national debt

John Oliver tackles the national debt
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/Last Week Tonight)

"Our main story tonight concerns the national debt, the world's most boring $28 trillion" but somehow still "a complete obsession in this country," John Oliver said on Sunday's Last Week Tonight. "The truth is, our national debt is undeniably big, and between the trillions in coronavirus stimulus bills and the infrastructure plans [President] Biden unveiled just this week, it's poised to get even bigger." His focus Sunday night was how the national debt works, "how valid concerns about it are, and how we should think about it moving forward."

Importantly, "going into debt can actually be a good investment for the country," Oliver said. "Essentially, as economists will tell you, the key question is: Are you spending money on the right things?" Republicans "seem outraged" that the debt is growing, but only when Democrats are president — as some readily admit, he demonstrated. "But even if you put all of that bad-faith hypocrisy aside, we are still left with the key question: How much debt is too much? And the interesting answer to that is, nobody really knows."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.