America is shorting one of its best assets as the $38 trillion national debt runs out of control

For years, warnings flashed that the U.S. national debt would eventually move from a theoretical drag to a kinetic crisis. In January 2026, it did just that. In Fortune’s recent reporting, the nation has officially crossed the Rubicon: For the first time in American history, the federal government is spending more to service the interest on our debt ($971 billion) than we spend on national defense.

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We are now a distressed borrower. The Federal Reserve is handcuffed, unable to cut rates without reigniting inflation, yet unable to hold them without strangling growth. The soft landing has hardened into a mathematical wall.

In this environment, the United States has only one non-austerity lever left to pull: Growth. We must expand the GDP denominator fast enough to keep the debt numerator from crushing us. With fertility rates below replacement levels, the economy cannot birth its way out. It cannot borrow its way out. It must earn its way out.

But here is the problem: The U.S. economy is actively shorting its most valuable asset class.

Analysis of the latest education data confirms that women now earn over 59% of all bachelor’s degrees and higher. Yet they are stalling out in the labor force, not because they lack ambition, but because our economic structure suppresses their yield. We are educating an asset class at world-class levels (incurring the tuition and time costs) and then utilizing it at entry-level efficiency.

This is the 59% arbitrage. In a world of $38 trillion debt, leaving this value on the table isn’t just unfair—it’s a default risk.

The Debt-Defense Crossover

To understand the urgency of the 59% arbitrage, look at the government’s P&L. The debt-defense crossover isn’t just a symbolic milestone; it is a signal of structural crowding out.

As analyzed in recent fiscal reports, net interest payments have nearly tripled since 2020. Interest now consumes approximately 20% of all federal revenue. This is capital that cannot be spent on infrastructure, R&D, or education. It is dead money paying for past decisions.

This creates a budget vise. The government effectively has no discretionary capacity left. In previous eras, the U.S. might have looked to immigration or a manufacturing boom to drive the GDP growth required to service this liability. But in 2026, those levers are insufficient. We need a massive injection of productivity and tax revenue, immediately.

The only asset large enough to cover a $1 trillion annual interest bill is the full economic integration of women. Economic modeling quantifies this opportunity at $3.1 trillion in added GDP, roughly three times the size of our annual interest payments. This isn’t a social wish list; it is the only line item on the national balance sheet capable of covering the spread.

The Asset: The Most Educated Cohort in History

If this were a stock portfolio, women would be the “growth tech” allocation. A breakdown of the data is unequivocal:

• 58.5% of all bachelor’s degrees are earned by women.

• 62.6% of all master’s degrees are earned by women.

• 57% of all doctoral degrees are earned by women.

We have heavily capitalized this asset. Through federal loans, state subsidies, and family savings, the U.S. has poured trillions into creating the most skilled female workforce in history.

Rational accounting would suggest deploying this high-skill labor into the highest-value sectors to generate maximum tax yield. Instead, we see the opposite. Employment data shows continued volatility among women, particularly intersectional groups, well past the pandemic recovery.

This is volatility a distressed economy cannot afford. Every time a high-skill woman exits the workforce or stagnates within it, the U.S. Treasury loses a high-yield taxpayer.

The Short: The Pipeline Fracture and The Barbell

Why is the asset underperforming? Because the market is rigged against its own efficiency.

The U.S. is currently suffering from a barbell economy, where growth is concentrated in capital-intensive AI at the top and low-wage services at the bottom. The middle, where the bulk of professional women sit, is being hollowed out.

But the primary mechanism of value destruction is the pipeline fracture.

My proprietary analysis reveals a systemic failure in talent mobility. Men are promoted 21% faster than women, even when performance ratings are held constant.

This isn’t a glass ceiling problem; it’s a pipeline fracture at the ground floor. By failing to promote women to their first level of management, we trap them in lower wage brackets. We are taking a woman with a master’s degree—capable of generating VP-level output and tax revenue—and capping her at an associate-level yield.

In financial terms, corporate America is hoarding talent. Companies are paying for the capability (the degree) but refusing to unlock the productivity (the promotion). It is capital inefficiency on a national scale.

The Valuation: A $3.1 Trillion Upside

So what is the value of closing the trade?

Economic modeling presented to the World Economic Forum shows that if the U.S. closes the gaps in participation, pay, and sector mix, it unlocks $3.1 trillion in annual economic impact.

• $1.9 trillion comes simply from closing the participation gap.

• $699 billion comes from fixing the sector mix, moving women from low-productivity admin roles into the high-productivity STEM and finance roles they are credentialed for.

• $512 billion comes from closing the pay gap.

To put that in perspective: $3.1 trillion is enough to stabilize the debt-to-GDP ratio without austerity measures that would cripple the economy.

The Pivot: It’s Not a Supply Problem, It’s a Valuation Problem

To capture this arbitrage, the market must stop obsessing over who is leaving the labor force and start fixing the massive inefficiency regarding the millions of women who are staying.

As research on Equity as an Asset Class demonstrates, the most expensive error in the U.S. labor market isn’t the Opt-Out Revolution. It is asset mismanagement.

Millions of women are clocking in every day, holding the majority of advanced degrees, yet trading at a discount due to systemic inequity. This is a pricing error that the U.S. Treasury—and the debt crisis—can no longer support.

1. The pipeline fracture is capital inefficiency

The narrative often focuses on the top, but the math shows the real loss happens at the entry level.

For years, companies have hired women at near-parity but refused to promote them. This isn’t just unfair; it’s bad business. We are taking our most educated cohort and keeping them in low-yield roles. We are paying for a Ferrari engine and driving it in first gear. By failing to promote these women, the economy suppresses their earnings trajectory, which directly suppresses the income tax revenue required to service the debt.

2. Inequity is a tax on growth

The gender pay gap is not a women’s issue; it is a cap on GDP. Closing the gender pay gap would generate more economic stimulus than traditional tax cuts.

The gender pay gap cuts straight through the U.S. economy. By suppressing the earnings of nearly half the workforce, we are actively eroding the tax base. Research shows that closing the pay gap would eliminate one-third of the Social Security shortfall. We are effectively subsidizing corporate bias with national solvency.

In a world of $38 trillion debt, we cannot afford to have 59% of our educated talent trading below fair market value. The 59% arbitrage requires full asset deployment. It is not enough to only get women back to work; we must also ensure the women at work are generating their maximum economic yield. We need both participation and valuation. Equity isn’t a social program. It is the only viable growth strategy left.

The Human Hedge

The United States is currently betting everything on AI productivity to save us from our debt. That is a high-risk bet with a long time horizon.

Women are the human hedge. They are the liquidity sitting on the sidelines, ready to be deployed immediately.

The polarization penalty, the cost paid for treating gender equity as a culture war issue rather than a balance sheet issue, is costing the nation solvency. We are arguing about wokeism while the creditors are at the door.

In 2026, bias is a luxury the U.S. balance sheet can no longer afford. This isn’t about fairness. It’s about solvency. And the math says the only path to solvency runs through the 59% arbitrage.

The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.

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