Although it is unlikely the United States will ever eliminate its debt entirely – a debt has existed since the inception of the nation, with a brief zeroing of the debt during the Andrew Jackson administration – many economists hope to see greater fiscal responsibility in the future and a gradual reduction of debt. The current stimulus package is highly contentious in part because of the extent to which it grows the debt, although proponents point out that if it works as planned, the boost to the economy will offset the short-term cost in the form of a growing tax base.

The future of the United States economy has rarely been so in question. But even with so much looking grim, there is a great deal of hope. The United States has been, since the New Deal, almost uniquely structured among the developed nations to weather economic hardships such as this. A strong central bank, and virtually unlimited tools in the hands of the Congress and President to invest, put the government in a position to gauge constantly shifting situations and react to them immediately and with force. Such tools may inevitably lead to mistakes, but may also allow the nation to be among the first to recover from a global downturn, as it did during the last Great Depression.