Although the United States has carried national debt since its founding, its current level is unprecedented and unsustainable. In fact, the nation’s deficits are larger than any other country in the world and are growing exponentially. Although most countries have some form of debt, the biggest issue is the debt-to-GDP ratio, which indicates whether or not the U.S. can afford to pay back its loans.
Unfortunately, this ratio is extremely high as levels of government borrowing have recently reached unsustainable levels. The U.S. has not had a balanced budget in over two decades, and the federal debt is now growing faster than the economy. Currently, the government owes nearly $34.6 trillion, a 100% increase from only 10 years ago.
With the national debt at unprecedented highs, 2024 will be the first year since at least 1940 that borrowing costs will exceed defense spending. According to the Congressional Budget Office, interest payments on the national debt are projected to hit $870 billion this year, compared to a planned $822 billion defense budget. Over the next decade, interest payments are expected to total a staggering $12.4 trillion.
While American presidents have mandatory spending obligations, such as Social Security and Medicare, they have some level of control over discretionary budgets and taxes. Still, a president’s budget, along with any proposed changes to the tax code, must receive congressional approval. As a result, a president’s relationship with lawmakers on Capitol Hill matters. In addition, other factors such as GDP growth, can also either help or hinder a president’s budgetary goals. (These are the sitting U.S. Senators doing the most in office.)
Fundamentally, the national debt is driven by a mismatch between revenue and spending. Wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan, stimulus payments during the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic, and rising Medicare costs have sent government spending soaring in recent years. Meanwhile, tax cuts under multiple presidential administrations have reduced government revenue. And while calls for fiscal responsibility and debt reduction are common in Washington D.C., they have rarely been matched with a demonstrated commitment to achieving those goals.
Using data from the U.S. Treasury Department, 24/7 Wall St. determined how the national debt changed under each of the 21 U.S. presidents who took the oath of office in the 20th or 21st centuries. For each presidential administration, we calculated the compound annual growth rate of the national debt, from their first year in office to their last. Annual debt measurements used in these calculations are for the end of each government fiscal year and are not adjusted for inflation. Presidents are ranked from the largest average annual decrease toward the national debt to the largest increase.
Of the 21 presidents on this list — from Theodore Roosevelt to Joe Biden — only two led during a period of debt reduction, and both held office in the 1920s, an era of rapid economic expansion. Meanwhile, the debt increased by an average annual rate of anywhere from 0.4% to 30.1% during every other president’s time in office. (These are the federal agencies wasting the most taxpayer money.)
Among the five presidents who oversaw the largest average annual increase in the national debt, two were Democrats and three were Republicans. The highest-ranking president on this list served during America’s entry into World War I, an event that sent government spending soaring. The second-highest-ranking president on this list served during the Great Depression and America’s entry into World War II.