There's an economic milestone making headlines this week, but not necessarily a positive one.

For the first time since World War II, America's public debt has officially grown larger than the

entire U.S. economy. I'm Kathy Fetke, and this is Real Estate News for investors.

This is Real Estate News with Kathy Fedke.

The data comes from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the Congressional Budget Office.

Public debt reached about $31.2 trillion at the end of April.

That's slightly higher than the U.S. gross domestic product, which came in about $31 trillion

over the past year. When economists talk about public debt, they're talking about money the federal

government owes to outside investors. That includes individuals, banks, pension funds, mutual

funds, foreign governments, and other institutions that buy U.S.

treasury bonds. It does not include money the government owes to itself through internal accounts.

In simple terms, public debt is what America borrows from the outside world to cover the gap

when government spending is higher than tax revenue. It's important to note that

this is not an overnight crisis. The U.S. economy is still growing. Investors around the world are

still buying U.S. treasury debt, and major firms like J.P. Morgan Chase say the economy has recently

been growing faster than the average interest cost on that debt. But there

are warning signs. Federal interest payments have now climbed above $1 trillion a year. According to the

report, the U.S. is now spending more on debt service than Medicare and even more than national defense.

So why should real estate investors care?

Well, as the national debt grows, so does the cost of servicing it. That means more taxpayer dollars

go towards interest payments instead of programs, infrastructure, or other economic priorities.

Over time, lawmakers may face difficult choices,

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