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U.S. Debt by President

By , About.com Guide

U.S. Debt by President

Presidents Bush and Obama two of the largest contributors to the U.S. debt.

Photo: Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images
What's the best way to determine how much of the $16 trillion U.S. debt is attributable to each President? The most popular way is to look at the debt level when each President took office. Sometimes it's easier to look at a graph showing the percent of the debt accumulated under each President. It's also important to compare the debt as a percent of economic output.

However, these aren't the most accurate ways to measure the debt contributed by each President. Why? The President doesn't really have much control over debt accumulation during his first year. That's because the budget for that fiscal year was already set by the previous President. The new President pretty much has to live with that budget's tax rates and spending levels for the first nine months of his inaugural calendar year in office. You really can't hold him accountable for the debt incurred by the previous President's budget.

In rare cases, a President can add an amendment to that budget, but must first get Congressional approval. For example, President Obama inherited President Bush's FY 2009 budget. In March 2009, he got Congress to pass the Economic Stimulus Act. This added a year's worth of stimulus spending to the FY 2009 budget.

The Best Way to Measure Debt by President:

Therefore, the most accurate way to measure the debt by President is to sum all the budget deficits. That's because the President is responsible for his budget priorities. It takes into account spending, and anticipated revenue from proposed tax cuts or hikes.

There are a few caveats, however. First, Congress does have an important role, since it must approve the budget. Each house of Congress prepares its own budget, and negotiates with the Executive Office to complete a budget each year. For more, see Who's Who in the Budget Process.

Second, each President inherits a previous President's policies. For example, every President has had to compensate for lower revenue thanks to President Reagan's tax cuts. That's because tax increases are a sure way to prevent re-election.

Third, while every President has had to deal with a recession, all recessions were not created equal. Furthermore, some Presidents have had to deal with unusual events, like the 9/11 terrorist attack and Hurricane Katrina. While these weren't part of the business cycle, they required responses that came with economic price tags.

President Barack Obama:

President Obama contributed the most to the debt, with cumulative deficits totaling $5.073 trillion in just four years. Obama's budgets included the economic stimulus package, which added $787 billion by cutting taxes, extending unemployment benefits, and funding job-creating public works projects. The Obama tax cuts added $858 billion to the debt over two years. Obama's budget included increased defense spending to around $800 billion a year. Federal income was down, thanks to lower tax receipts from the 2008 financial crisis.

Both Presidents Bush and Obama had to contend with higher mandatory mandatory spending for Social Security and Medicare. He also sponsored the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which was designed to reduce the debt by $143 billion over 10 years. However, these savings didn't show up until the later years.

President George W. Bush:

President Bush is next, racking up $3.294 trillion over two terms. He responded to the attacks on 9/11 by launching the War on Terror. This drove military spending to a new records, between $600-$800 billion a year. President Bush also responded to the 2001 recession by passing EGTRRA and JGTRRA, otherwise known as the Bush tax cuts.

President Ronald Reagan:

President Reagan added $1.412 trillion to the debt during his two terms. He fought the 1982 recession by cutting the top income tax rate from 70% to 28%, and the corporate rate from 48% to 34%. He also increased government spending by 2.5% a year. This included a 35% increase in the defense budget, and an expansion of Medicare. Although $1.412 trillion doesn't sound like a lot, compared to 2012 debt levels, in fact Reagan's economic policies doubled the debt during his Presidency.

President George H.W. Bush:

President George H.W. Bush added $1.03 trillion to the debt in one term. He responded to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait with Desert Storm. He oversaw the $125 billion bailout to end the 1989 Savings and Loan crisis. Part of his debt contribution was due to lost tax revenue from the 1991 recession.
Although many other Presidents added to the debt, none comes close to these four in terms of overall spending. Part of that is because the U.S. economy, as measured by GDP, was so much smaller for other Presidents. For example, in 1981 GDP was only $3 trillion, growing by five times to $15 trillion in 2012. See the table below for a year-by-year detail of each President's budget deficit since President Woodrow Wilson. (Updated January 31, 2013)

Budget Deficits by Fiscal Year Since 1960:

President Barack Obama: First Term = $5.073 trillion.
  • FY 2013 - $901 billion.
  • FY 2012 - $1.327 trillion.
  • FY 2011 - $1.299 trillion.
  • FY 2010 - $1.546 ($1.293 trillion plus $253 billion from the Obama Stimulus Act that was attached to the FY 2009 budget).
President George W. Bush: First Term = $1.267 trillion. Second Term = $2.027 trillion. Total = $3.294.
  • FY 2009 - $1.16 trillion. ($1.416 trillion minus $253 billion from Obama's Stimulus Act)
  • FY 2008 - $458 billion.
  • FY 2007 - $161 billion.
  • FY 2006 - $248 billion.
  • FY 2005 - $318 billion.
  • FY 2004 - $413 billion.
  • FY 2003 - $378 billion.
  • FY 2002 - $158 billion.
President Bill Clinton: First Term = $496 billion. Second Term = ($559 billion surplus). Total = ($63 billion surplus).
  • FY 2001 - $128 billion surplus.
  • FY 2000 - $236 billion surplus.
  • FY 1999 - $126 billion surplus.
  • FY 1998 - $69 billion surplus.
  • FY 1997 - $22 billion.
  • FY 1996 - $107 billion.
  • FY 1995 - $164 billion.
  • FY 1994 - $203 billion.
President George H.W. Bush: First Term = $1.03 trillion.
  • FY 1993 - $255 billion.
  • FY 1992 - $290 billion.
  • FY 1991 - $269 billion.
  • FY 1990 - $221 billion.
President Ronald Reagan: First Term = $733 billion. Second Term = $679 billion. Total = $1.412 trillion.
  • FY 1989 - $153 billion.
  • FY 1988 - $155 billion.
  • FY 1987 - $150 billion.
  • FY 1986 - $221 billion.
  • FY 1985 - $212 billion.
  • FY 1984 - $185 billion.
  • FY 1983 - $208 billion.
  • FY 1982 - $128 billion.
President Jimmy Carter: First Term = $253 billion
  • FY 1981 - $79 billion.
  • FY 1980 - $74 billion.
  • FY 1979 - $41 billion.
  • FY 1978 - $59 billion.
President Gerald Ford: Three Years = $181 billion.
  • FY 1977 - $54 billion.
  • FY 1976 - $74 billion.
  • FY 1975 - $53 billion.
President Richard Nixon: First Term = $64 billion. First Year of Second Term = $6 billion. Total = $70 billion.
  • FY 1974 - $6 billion.
  • FY 1973 - $15 billion.
  • FY 1972 - $23 billion.
  • FY 1971 - $23 billion.
  • FY 1970 - $3 billion.
President Lyndon B. Johnson: Two Years in First Term = $7 billion. Second Term = $35 billion. Total = $42 billion.
  • FY 1969 - $3 billion surplus.
  • FY 1968 - $25 billion.
  • FY 1967 - $9 billion.
  • FY 1966 - $4 billion.
  • FY 1965 - $1 billion.
  • FY 1964 - $6 billion.
President John F. Kennedy: Two Years in First Term = $11 billion.
  • FY 1963 - $5 billion.
  • FY 1962 - $7 billion.
President Dwight Eisenhower: First Term = $3 billion surplus. Second Term = $19 billion. Total = $16 billion.
  • FY 1961 - $3 billion.
  • FY 1960 - $0 billion (slight surplus).
  • FY 1959 - $13 billion.
  • FY 1958 - $3 billion.
  • FY 1957 - $3 billion surplus.
  • FY 1956 - $4 billion surplus.
  • FY 1955 - $3 billion.
  • FY 1954 - $1 billion.
President Harry Truman: First Term = $1 billion surplus. Second Term = $4 billion. Total = $3 billion.
  • FY 1953 - $6 billion.
  • FY 1952 - $1 billion.
  • FY 1951 - $6 billion surplus.
  • FY 1950 - $3 billion.
  • FY 1949 - $1 billion surplus.
  • FY 1948 - $12 billion surplus.
  • FY 1947 - $4 billion surplus.
  • FY 1946 - $16 billion.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt: First Term = $13 billion. Second Term = $11 billion. Third Term = $172 billion. Total = $196 billion.
  • FY 1945 - $48 billion.
  • FY 1944 - $48 billion.
  • FY 1943 - $55 billion.
  • FY 1942 - $21 billion.
  • FY 1941 - $5 billion.
  • FY 1940 - $3 billion.
  • FY 1939 - $3 billion.
  • FY 1938 - $0 billion (slight deficit).
  • FY 1937 - $2 billion.
  • FY 1936 - $4 billion.
  • FY 1935 - $3 billion.
  • FY 1934 - $4 billion.
President Herbert Hoover: First Term = $5 billion.
  • FY 1933 - $3 billion.
  • FY 1932 - $3 billion.
  • FY 1931 - $0 billion (slight deficit).
  • FY 1930 - $1 billion surplus.
President Calvin Coolidge: Two Years of First Term = $2 billion surplus. Second Term = $4 billion surplus. Total = $6 billion surplus.
  • FY 1929 - $1 billion surplus.
  • FY 1928 - $1 billion surplus.
  • FY 1927 - $1 billion surplus.
  • FY 1926 - $1 billion surplus.
  • FY 1925 - $1 billion surplus.
  • FY 1924 - $1 billion surplus.
President Warren G. Harding: Two Years of First Term = $2 billion surplus.
  • FY 1923 - $1 billion surplus.
  • FY 1922 - $1 billion surplus.
President Woodrow Wilson: First Term = $1 billion. Second Term = $21 billion. Total = $22 billion.
  • FY 1921 - $1 billion surplus.
  • FY 1920 - $0 billion (slight surplus).
  • FY 1919 - $13 billion.
  • FY 1918 - $9 billion.
  • FY 1917 - $1 billion.
  • FY 1916 - $0 billion (slight surplus).
  • FY 1915 - $0 billion (slight surplus).
  • FY 1914 - $0 billion.
FY 1789 - FY 1913 - $24 billion surplus. (Source: OMB, Table 1.1—Summary of Receipts, Outlays, and Surpluses or Deficits: 1789–2017)

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