Bessent says world is ‘awash in debt’ and growth is the only way out

Published August 31, 2026 12:14pm ET



Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he thinks economic growth is the way to emerge from the mountain of national debt accumulated by the United States.

Bessent, speaking to reporters ahead of the Group of 20 meeting of finance ministers in North Carolina, said that the world is heavily in debt following the financial crisis and the pandemic and expressed optimism that the economy could grow enough to pull its way out of debt, a prospect of which many economists are skeptical.

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