Sunday, August 14, 2011

Who's responsible for the national debt?


http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2011/07/national-debt-ceiling-explained-in-one-graphic/

It's probably better to plot debt as a percentage of GDP, or percentage change on a year-over-year basis, but this is still an interesting chart.

Posted by Steve Sinai

9 comments:

Ben Bernanke said...

Hey wait a minute Sinai

I hear the Hippies in Pacifica, did a pretty good job running up the city's debt.

How bout a graph of the Pacifica debt under the 3 stooges of City Council.

Vreeland, Digree, De Jarnatt

Anonymous said...

Oh Brother, Sinai. Get off the partisan train. Pay attention to the store shelves and get ready to defend your community. Fricken kids.

Kathy Meeh said...

".. Get off the partisan train."

"Oh brother" Anon (10:34), guess you missed the article link directed to non-political investment advisement blog. The statistical information looks correct. Nothing scary or anxiety-driven except your additional ambiguous, undefined comment about "store shelves and get ready to defend your community."

BTW, here's some larger "community" information brought to our attention from MSNBC: President George W. Bush administration policies (wars, tax-cutting welfare for the wealthy, etc.) has resulted in a 7 TRILLION debt increase. That's half of the existing 14 trillion USA debt.

ian butler said...

Clicked the link, not much of note except this at the top of the comments section:

"Please use the comments to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data, ability to repeat discredited memes, and lack of respect for scientific knowledge. Also, be sure to create straw men and argue against things I have neither said nor even implied. Any irrelevancies you can mention will also be appreciated. Lastly, kindly forgo all civility in your discourse . . . you are, after all, anonymous."

Steve Sinai said...

Looks to me like both parties are equally responsible.

Anonymous said...

No. The Voters. And, T.V.

Steve Sinai said...

- The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.

Sir Winston Churchill

Kathy Meeh said...

One structural problem since President Ronald Reagan administration (1980 to 1989), the highest marginal tax rate dropped from 70% to as low as 28%, and hasn't returned since, now 35%. With a 100% advantage over 30 years, the rich became a whole lot richer, while the middle class and poor became whole lot poorer. Something like 15-10% wealthy own 85-90% of America. 30-40 years ago the wealth divide used to be something like 60% wealthy, 40% the rest of us.

Possibly this brings us to a "partisan" view. Why would anyone in the middle-class poor defend the "wrong way" upper-class wealth trend? Note where the USA debt was under President Carter. Is there really any question the tax rate for the wealthy should be increased. Remember the middle-class ideal this country was built upon?

Anonymous said...

And, the brainwashed partisan hacks keep on ticking. When the SHTF, they will be the first knocked on their knees left in the street bleeding and dying. Well, one thing everyone could agree on is that the radical left believes in depopulation. Send your complaints to the Margaret Sanger Foundation.