America’s Economy Is Growing on AI and Borrowed Time

War, a government shutdown, and months of tariff chaos ... yet the US economy still managed to grow. First-quarter GDP rose at a healthy 2% clip, up from a fourth quarter that barely held together. The number fell slightly short of forecasts, though, and as it turns out, the growth came with a cost that’s getting harder to ignore.

• Business investment did most of the heavy lifting, surging 10.4% from last year — with spending on AI, equipment, and intellectual property reflecting private-sector demand.
• Yet consumer spending slowed, sentiment hit a record low, and trade imbalances shaved 1.3% off growth — meaning gains concentrated outside of the economy’s main engine.

Here’s the catch: The same day GDP data dropped, US debt crossed 100% of GDP for the first time since 1946. Washington is burning through $1.33 for every dollar it brings in, a structural gap so wide that interest alone now claims one in every seven dollars the government spends. Strip out deficit spending entirely, and the already wobbly economic growth story looks considerably thinner. Add in the Fed holding rates steady through year-end, and there’s little relief coming for an economy held up by AI and debt.