November 16, 2011 [2]was a historic date: that's when the US officially surpassed $15 trillion in debt for the first time since World War 2. We celebrated it by cheering $15,OOO,OOO,OOO,OOOBAMA. Today, August 28, 2012, is when we can unofficially celebrate again, because 286 days after the last major milestone was surpassed with disturbing ease, total US debt following today's $35 billion auction of 2 Year bonds is, well, in a word: $16,OOO,OOO,OOO,OOOBAMA!
The math?
Take today's $35 billion [3] in 2 Year bonds.
[4]
and add this unsettled amount [5]to the total debt...
[6]
...To get just over $16X1012 which means it took 286 days to go from $15 to $16 trillion: $3.5 billion in extra debt every day.
Alternatively take the above official Total Public Debt Outstanding, and add to this $76 billion [7]in net new debt that will settle over the J-Hole weekend.
[8]
The result: $16.05 trillion, which is what the debt to the penny will officially show next week.
Of course this will be the total following the balance of this week's auctions. In the meantime, the US is now officially between that ceiling and a $16 trillion floor.
But wait. You aint's seen nothing yet. At this rate of growth, total US debt will surpass:
- $17 trillion on June 10, 2013;
- $18 trillion on March 23, 2014;
- $19 trillion on January 3, 2015; and
- $20 trillion on October 16, 2015
And on, and on, and on...