When Did the Debt-to-GDP Ratio Jump in the Last Decade?

Federal debt held by the public as a share of GDP:

Figure 1: Federal debt held by public, as share of GDP (blue). Source: BEA, Treasury via FRED.

5 thoughts on “When Did the Debt-to-GDP Ratio Jump in the Last Decade?

  1. pgl

    It was rising during Trump’s first three years. And it SOARED during his last year. Since then it has been basically coming down. MAGA?

    Reply
  2. James

    Trump’s plans for mass deportation of workers, tariffs, and tax cuts for billionaires would be a disaster for the U.S. economy.

    Also reading about deflation in China this morning – https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-09-09/china-s-deflationary-spiral-is-now-entering-dangerous-new-stage has me thinking that someone needs to tell Trump and Fox News that the Biden/Harris economy is the envy of the world – https://www.wsj.com/economy/central-banking/economy-forecast-lower-recession-chances-1f24174b

    Reply
  3. Macroduck

    Heck, why not look at the past 7 decades?:

    https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GFDEGDQ188S#0

    Debt as a share of GDP rises rapidly under Republican presidents, more slowly if at all under Democratic presidents.

    Let’s not stop at the budget. What else happened under Trump?

    The U.S. lost 2.7 million jobs during Trump’s presidency.

    The trade deficit increased by 36%.

    The number of people without health insurance rose by 3 million.

    Illegal border crossings rose by 14.7%.

    The murder rate rose to the highest level since 1997.

    https://www.factcheck.org/2021/10/trumps-final-numbers/

    By way of contrast, employment increased by 11.6 million under Obama, the number of uninsured fell by 15 million, illegal immigration declined and the murder rate dropped to its lowest level on record before ending where it began:

    https://www.factcheck.org/2017/09/obamas-final-numbers/

    Biden’s final numbers aren’t in yet, but as of April, employment was up by 15.2 million, murders are down 8.6%, illegal immigration and consumer prices are up sharply:

    https://www.factcheck.org/2024/04/bidens-numbers-april-2024-update/

    Covid has a lot to do with employment and inflation numbers. The deficit? Sure. The murder rate? Not as much. Thing is, Trump did a bad job on the very issues he and and his pack of “alternative facts” supporters have made so much noise about. They got nuthin’.

    Reply

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