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Follow this link to view the current national debt.
At the beginning of August of 2011, when Economics for the 21st Century debuted, the national debt stood at 14.4 trillion dollars. This represented a per-family debt of $122, 301. What is the opportunity cost of that much debt? What would YOU do with $122,000? Oh, and... how would you like to pay for that? How 'bout through a reduced standard of living? Look at what we owe today! This is why we study economics.
Our level of debt is higher than our annual Gross Domestic Product, the key measure of our nation's wealth.
These numbers, we'll add, have been growing for decades, roughly tripling since Jimmy Carter left the presidency. Under Ronald Reagan, debt as a percentage of GDP grew from 33.4 percent to 51.9 percent, and under George H.W. Bush, it grew from 51.9 percent to 64.1 percent. It declined under Bill Clinton, from 64.1 percent to 57.3 percent, before rising from 57.3 percent to 69.2 percent under George W. Bush. It continued to soar under President Obama, and will likely do the same under President Trump.
For a primer on the national debt, please read this article at About.com.
At the beginning of August of 2011, when Economics for the 21st Century debuted, the national debt stood at 14.4 trillion dollars. This represented a per-family debt of $122, 301. What is the opportunity cost of that much debt? What would YOU do with $122,000? Oh, and... how would you like to pay for that? How 'bout through a reduced standard of living? Look at what we owe today! This is why we study economics.
Our level of debt is higher than our annual Gross Domestic Product, the key measure of our nation's wealth.
These numbers, we'll add, have been growing for decades, roughly tripling since Jimmy Carter left the presidency. Under Ronald Reagan, debt as a percentage of GDP grew from 33.4 percent to 51.9 percent, and under George H.W. Bush, it grew from 51.9 percent to 64.1 percent. It declined under Bill Clinton, from 64.1 percent to 57.3 percent, before rising from 57.3 percent to 69.2 percent under George W. Bush. It continued to soar under President Obama, and will likely do the same under President Trump.
For a primer on the national debt, please read this article at About.com.