Total US public debt surpassed US$40 trillion for the first time, and has now surged by a third in less than five years, as US lawmakers continue to shrug off calls to contend with historically wide financial deficits.Public debt outstanding stood at US$40.05 trillion as of the close of business on Tuesday, a US Treasury Department release on Wednesday showed. The crossing of the US$30 trillion mark only dates back to January 2022.And there is no end in sight.Republicans have long opposed...