Federal spending topped $400 billion for the first time in June.

That has the unfortunate distinction of beating the record of $392.8 billion that was spent in March 2017.

I mention this because the US debt is getting awfully close to $20 trillion — a level which, as I said in a column a while ago, the media should give as much attention as it does whenever the Dow Jones industrial average passes through milestones.

Except, of course, the US debt level is more of a millstone around the country’s neck than a milestone.

As of Monday afternoon, the US National Debt Clock is less than $34 billion shy of $20 trillion.