US Gross Debt: How has the US been doing since the WWII?

Usually, it is not a good idea to put two line charts side by side and visualize a comparison in such a way. Since the values compared here are quite different than each other (in terms of quantity) but at the same time, the year grids match perfectly. I think this occasion is perfect. Using the data on the Wikipedia page, I created these two charts.

The first spike on the “change in debt to GDP ratio” graph is during Roosevelt’s presidency. World War 2 created a huge economic burden at its time. After it was over, however, the States recovered pretty fast. As it can be concluded from the same chart, debt to GDP ratio of the US exceeded 100% in 2011 for the second time in history (first was during World War 2).

In 1971, Nixon decoupled the dollar from the gold standard and this removed the limit to the amount of money that can be printed. This is most likely one of the major reasons why we see the steady increase in the second chart.

When we look at the graph on the top, huge spikes in the Bush and Obama periods catch the eye. From 2002 to 2011, the gross debt was doubled. Apparently, it is not only the wars that put the government in huge debts.

Here is the link to my dashboard.