THE BOTTOM LINE

Why America’s debt binge is starting to matter

If long-term interest rates decisively breach the 5% threshold, the impact can derail the AI boom

    • The AI bubble popping will signal the start of a new era of tighter money, in which AI mega projects will be harder to fund.
    • The AI bubble popping will signal the start of a new era of tighter money, in which AI mega projects will be harder to fund. PHOTO: YEN MENG JIIN, BT
    Published Mon, Sep 7, 2026 · 04:58 PM

    [WASHINGTON] Doomsday warnings about America’s rising debt date back to the 1970s, when the US government began running persistent budgetary deficits.

    Late in the next decade, a worried New York real estate developer placed the “national debt clock” in Times Square.

    None of the warnings materialised, so like the boy who cried wolf, they became background noise, easy to ignore. Now, as in the fable, the wolf is approaching the door.