The U.S. national debt was $31.5 trillion in January 2023 and has risen sharply as a percentage of GDP in recent years due to the pandemic. The forecast based on the U.S. budget is that the debt will continue to rise, not only absolutely, but also as a percentage of GDP. Moreover, interest rates have now risen, which means that the interest item on this debt is also going to rise. We are soon talking about an additional interest expense of 500 billion, equal to about 10 percent of tax revenues. Since the Americans have not issued centennial loans like Austria, many national debts will have to be refinanced in the coming years. By the way, there is still some $70 trillion worth of off-balance-sheet liabilities, not only Social Security and Medicare but also all the guarantees from Fannie Ma