National debt by U.S. presidential terms
Okay kiddo, you know how sometimes mommy or daddy take out a loan from the bank to buy a new car or a house? Well, our country, the United States of America, also borrows money from different people and countries to pay for things like roads, schools, and military. And over time, the amount of money we owe, which is what we call national debt, keeps increasing.
So, every 4 or 8 years, we have a new leader called the President who runs the country. During their term, they make decisions about how our money is spent and how much money we borrow.
Let's start with the 1980s when Ronald Reagan was President. He increased the national debt a lot, by about 186%. He did this by lowering taxes and also increasing military spending.
Then came President George H.W. Bush, who actually kept adding to the national debt a little more, by about 55%. He did this by continuing some of Reagan's policies and also dealing with some international conflicts.
After that, we had President Bill Clinton in the 1990s, who actually reduced the national debt by 8%. He did this by raising taxes and also creating a budget that helped balance our spending and income.
Then, in the early 2000s, we had President George W. Bush, who increased the national debt again by about 101%. He did this by lowering taxes, spending a lot on wars, and also dealing with some economic problems.
Finally, we have President Barack Obama who served two terms. During his first term, he added about 68% to the national debt because of the Great Recession and also because of some health care reforms. But during his second term, he slowed down the growth of national debt, and actually decreased it a little by 1%.
So, as you can see, different Presidents have different ways of managing our money and our debt. Some add more to the debt, some reduce it a little, and some do a mix of both. It's important for us to keep track of how much we owe and to make sure we can pay it back someday.
So, every 4 or 8 years, we have a new leader called the President who runs the country. During their term, they make decisions about how our money is spent and how much money we borrow.
Let's start with the 1980s when Ronald Reagan was President. He increased the national debt a lot, by about 186%. He did this by lowering taxes and also increasing military spending.
Then came President George H.W. Bush, who actually kept adding to the national debt a little more, by about 55%. He did this by continuing some of Reagan's policies and also dealing with some international conflicts.
After that, we had President Bill Clinton in the 1990s, who actually reduced the national debt by 8%. He did this by raising taxes and also creating a budget that helped balance our spending and income.
Then, in the early 2000s, we had President George W. Bush, who increased the national debt again by about 101%. He did this by lowering taxes, spending a lot on wars, and also dealing with some economic problems.
Finally, we have President Barack Obama who served two terms. During his first term, he added about 68% to the national debt because of the Great Recession and also because of some health care reforms. But during his second term, he slowed down the growth of national debt, and actually decreased it a little by 1%.
So, as you can see, different Presidents have different ways of managing our money and our debt. Some add more to the debt, some reduce it a little, and some do a mix of both. It's important for us to keep track of how much we owe and to make sure we can pay it back someday.