Title: The Long Story of U.S. Debt, From 1790 to 2011, in 1 Little Chart - The Atlantic
Headings: The Long Story of U.S. Debt, From 1790 to 2011, in 1 Little Chart
Business
The Long Story of U.S. Debt, From 1790 to 2011, in 1 Little Chart
FREEDOM ISN'T FREE
CIVIL WAR
IN THE TRENCHES
THE GREAT DEPRESSION
WORLD WAR II
REAGONOMICS
W.
THE GREAT RECESSION
THE ROAD TO $16 TRILLION

Content: After that, a surge of economic growth, and increased revenues--thanks in part to the 1990 tax increases that cost the first President George Bush re-election and tax increases pushed through by the Clinton administration --helped bend the trajectory of the debt load back into line. W.
The  debt-load continued to look increasingly manageable throughout the late  1990s, and it hit its recent low of less than 33% of GDP in 2001. At that point, things looked so good on the debt front, that some were projecting the US would be within striking distance of eliminating the entire debt within a decade. It didn't work out that way. A recession, combined with tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 championed by President George W. Bush, severely crimped revenue. At the same time, spending surged both on military outlays after Sept. 11 and on domestic programs such as an expensive prescription-drug benefit for senior citizens. As a result. US borrowing  shot higher to finance the Bush Administration's efforts to stabilize the banking system as the economy teetered on the brink in 2008. Total government debt available to be traded publicly rose from $3.41 trillion in December 2000 to $5.80 trillion in December 2008, an increase of 70%; the debt-to-GDP ratio went up from 34.7% in 2000 to 40.5% in 2008.