It's the Brian Laird show on WNYc, good

again, and the

it's the Brian Lera Show on WNYC. Good morning again everyone and happy new year again everyone.

Happy 2024 and happy year of the 34 trillion dollar United States government debt. That figure has been in the news since New

years, but with very little context about how to process such a mind-numbingly big number.

Is $34 trillion a red flag data point? A normal acceptable figure

considering the size of our overall economy? Does it portend trouble ahead for Medicare and Social

Security and inflation and

devaluation of the dollar or just a big round but not that bad number for

Republican politicians to take aim at in an election year as a scare tactic.

We will get a take on this now from none other than New York Times columnist and

Cuny Graduate Center professor Paul Krugman.

He's known as an economic progressive who takes no prisoners when it comes to Republican truth twisting,

but he also did write a column in October called Why We Should But Won't,

reduce the budget deficit. So let's see what he thinks

Dr. equipment always good to have you on the show welcome back to WNYC.

Hi good to be back on so first let me ask you to put that $34 trillion figure in perspective, open-ended question.

How do we begin to process what that kind of number with so many zeros means in human terms.

Okay, first thing to say is, you know, this is America.

Everything about America is gigantic.

And so, you know, anything you name, even how obscure it it is it's going to be a

gigantic number so that the right way you know people generally put it as a

...