See more of our coverage in your search results.

Yes, the nation’s debt surpassed $40 trillion in August – yes, trillion, with a “ T ” – but beware the panicky prophets of “doom loops” and “death spirals”.

The anxiety is understandable, of course. It’s not particularly nice to contemplate yearly interest payments that topped $1 trillion with a ‘T’ last year – surpassing, for example, a US defense budget which fell just short of that staggering $1T mark.

Nevertheless, let’s try and put emotions aside for a moment – a rare thing in this traditionally charged discussion. Likewise, let’s consider a few facts which are as seldom cited as they are true when it comes to our national debt.

Debt is actually down over the last decade. Getty Images

Fact: Measured correctly, debt is down over the last decade.…