ed to 43.8% of GDP, and by the end of his second term it was up to 53.1% of GDP. Who was getting all of that money? Was it the fat cats on Wall Street? Was it the Defense Industry? Whisper who dares!
President George H.W. Bush continued the trend, increasing the National Debt to 66.1% of GDP. In 12 years the Conservatives had more than doubled the National Debt as a percentage of GDP.
President Bill Clinton managed to hold the line and get the National Debt down to 65.4% of GDP in his first term, and down to 56.4% during his second term. Where is the profligate spending that the Conservatives keep blaming on Liberals? Not here!
President George W. Bush reversed the trend, running the National Debt up to 83.4% of GDP before he left office. I am sure that Conservatives will argue that those increases were necessary because of two wars being run in the post-9/11 time frame. Perhaps so, but the record is pretty consistent between “Conservatives” and “Liberals.” It is exactly opposite of the story Conservatives like to tell.
We won’t know President Barack Obama’s results for another two years, but who will be surprised if the National Debt is increased during his first term? George W. Bush left office with our national economy collapsing. The Conservatives want you to forget that President Bush insisted upon and got an emergency stimulus package of about $1 Trillion during his last months in office. Yes, President Barack Obama asked for a matching sum, immediately after he came to office. They were both right! If that $2 Trillion plus had not been pushed into our economic system during those months, our economy would have truly collapsed. Most of us are still feeling the pain, and will be for many years to come. Based on what seems to be happening in the housing and mortgage industries, we may yet face bigger economic problems.
Yes, it is true, our National Debt is too large, and needs to be brought under control. But, the next time the Conservatives want you to believe that the National Debt history shows them as the reducers, don’t you believe it! They have consistently added to the National Debt from the time that President Richard M. Nixon was still a respected figure on the world stage. It’s been four decades!
The statistics in this article come from the National Debt Wikipedia site.
Skip Conover is an International Executive, Author, and Artist. He has written a novel, a published current affairs book, and a published journal. He turned his long time interest in Jungian Archetype into the Archetype in Action™ Organization.