America's debt has doubled in a decade and just crossed $40 trillion, a bad sign for anyone worried about taxes, interest rates, or the value of the dollar.

• The government keeps spending far more than it takes in, running deficits near $2 trillion a year, with war costs and tax cuts adding to the pile.
• The bond market is nervous, and borrowing costs recently hit their highest level in about 17 years.
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is buying back long-term debt and issuing more short-term debt instead — a shuffle that steadies things now but leaves the government exposed to wild swings later.
• Trump, who once called himself the "king of debt" and attacked Obama for doubling it, is now openly hoping for weak economic data so interest rates fall.
• Bessent says the "K-shaped economy" is dead, but Robert Reich and others argue the rich are pulling away while everyone else sinks — diesel in California just hit $7 a gallon.

Outlook: As the debt grows and rates stay high, a bigger share of tax money goes to interest payments instead of anything else, and the short-term borrowing shift makes the bond market more fragile.