Tesla CEO Elon Musk describes his foray into the world of politics as a “very interesting side quest.” The world’s richest man plowed hundreds of millions into President Trump’s election campaign, barreled into the capital, and set off administrative hand grenades with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). He then promptly fell out of favor with the White House and was dismissed back to Texas.
The separation between Trump and Musk was a breakup pretty much everyone saw coming. It came in part because of the Oval Office’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which the tech titan said undermined the cost-cutting work of DOGE. Musk is one of many business leaders concerned by America’s spending habits, with national debt now totaling more than $38 trillion.
Economists aren’t necessarily worried by the level of national debt—nations actually need it to underpin the bond market and keep the global economy moving—but they are worried about the interest payments on the debt and how this impacts the all-important debt-to-GDP ratio. This ratio indicates how fast a country’s economy is growing and, as a result, its ability to be able to repay the debt or keep up with interest payments on the borrowing.
