Tom Barkin, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, said the US economy has continued to outperform expectations, with real GDP growth averaging 2.5% annually since 2023. Speaking at the Greenville Chamber's State of Greenville event on August 13, Barkin highlighted a 4.1% unemployment rate in July, the 58th consecutive month below 4.5% and the longest such streak in US history. Consumer spending accounts for nearly 70% of GDP, while real private nonresidential fixed investment expanded at a 9.5% annualized rate in the first half of 2026, compared with a 5.8% pre-pandemic average. Barkin described the economy as remarkably resilient and said some uncertainty facing markets and businesses had begun to ease. He also warned that US public debt, which has surpassed $40 trillion, could become a major threat if investors lose appetite for government bonds. Such a shift could create a reckoning by raising government borrowing costs and intensifying competition with private businesses for capital. The debt burden also complicates the Federal Reserve's effort to balance employment and price stability.