$30 Trillion Debt

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What's Happening Today

Good morning! It's Kristin with your daily morning digest.

For the first time, America's national debt hit $30 trillion, according to Treasury Department data released yesterday, and a bipartisan group of legislators will meet today in the hopes of coming up with a deal to fund the government and avoid a shutdown. I know what you're thinking. This again? Yep, this again. The last time we went through this, legislators only agreed to temporarily fund the government until Feb. 18. If they can't come up with a budget deal by then, the government will shut down.

This morning, payroll services provider ADP also released its January figures, showing private sector employment fell by 301,000 jobs, in what could be a preview of the government's more detailed jobs report due on Friday. The ADP report and the Labor Department jobs figures don't always align, so today's news doesn't guarantee a bad report on Friday, but with concerns that the spread of the omicron variant would put a damper on jobs growth, the decline in today's figures could spell trouble.

This evening The Balance will host its first Instagram Live conversation with author and Brookings Metro senior fellow Andre Perry about racism in the housing market and how discriminatory practices like redlining have caused a racial homeownership gap. The conversation starts at 6 p.m. Eastern, and we hope you will tap in!

- Kristin

Editors' Picks

U.S. National Debt Tops $30 Trillion as Borrowing Surged Amid Pandemic (The New York Times)

Omicron Surge Took Away 301,000 Jobs, ADP Data Shows (The Balance)

Democrats, GOP Set To Huddle on Deal To Fund Government, Avert Shutdown (The Washington Post)

Consumers Are Pivoting Spending to Services Like Dining and Travel (The Wall Street Journal)

Alphabet Stock Split Aimed at Bringing Google Shares to Masses (Bloomberg)

Off the Charts

A flat tax rate is a rate that is even across the board; all taxpayers pay the same rate regardless of how much they earn. The concept has a lot of support but has also seen opposition. For tax year 2021—the return you file in 2022—there are nine states that have a flat income tax rate: Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Utah.

Number of the Day

9 - That's how many times a bad January was followed by a better year for the S&P 500, according to an analysis of the last 10 times the index lost ground in January.

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