US Debt Is ‘Unsustainable,’ Must Be Reduced, Economists Say

Moody's Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi speaks during a forum held by Democratic members of the House Ways and Means Committee discussing Republican tax legislation and the U.S. economy in Washington on Dec. 13, 2017. Zach Gibson/Getty Images

The growing national debt is on an unsustainable path and must be reduced to avoid long-term damage to the U.S. economy, experts warned on May 4.

“With respect to interest rates and soaring debt, we are sitting on a ticking time bomb. Congress should be working diligently to avert an otherwise-inevitable debt crisis,” Brian Riedl, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, said in testimony before the Senate Budget Committee.