Forever In His Debt

George W. Bush, his father and Ronald Reagan are collectively responsible for three-quarters of the national debt.

George W. Bush inherited a 5.6 trillion dollar debt, has enlarged it to 9.1 trillion, and is on track to double it by his current term’s end. As a percentage of the GDP, the most accurate measure of a President’s contribution to the debt, Bush is set to pass the 70% mark, something not seen since just after WWII. That is, the amount of money we owe will soon be equal to 70% of the nation’s annual income.

Clinton reduced the percentage of America’s debt from the 68.1% inherited from Bush I, to 57.7% by the end of his presidency. In December of 2001 he was able to announce that “The United States is on course to eliminate its public debt within the next decade.” By 2002 George W. Bush had changed directions, running a $158 billion deficit that year and deficits every year since.

In fiscal year 2007 the US paid $429,977,998,108.20 in interest on the national debt. That’s 19 billion more than the defense budget in 2006, 14 times the amount spent on Homeland Security and 7 and a half times the money spent on education. Interest on the national debt is now the largest federal expenditure after defense and mandatory spending. By 2009 it could eclipse defense spending as the largest single non-entitlement government expense.

Last September, Bush called $22 billion in funding for health benefits for veterans, medical research, education and infrastructure improvements that democrats wanted to add to his 2008 budget a "big increase in federal spending."

"Some in Congress will tell you that $22 billion is not a lot of money. As business leaders, you know better. As a matter of fact, $22 billion is larger than the annual revenues of most Fortune 500 companies."

Our interest payment on the national debt for this past October alone was $22,310,362,733.54