At the doorstep of the Biden Administration, here is a snapshot of the last four transitions of power:
End of Clinton/Start of Bush II (FY2001): Debt: $5.8 trillion.[1] Interest on that debt $206 billion.[2]
End of Bush/Start of Obama (FY2009): Debt $11.9 trillion.[3] Interest in that debt: $260 billion.[4]
End of Obama/start of Trump (FY2017): Debt: $20.2 trillion.[5] Interest on that debt: $304 billion.[6]
End of Trump/Start of Biden (FY 2021): Debt $27.8 trillion.[7] Interest on that debt: $379 billion.[8]
We are now paying $379 billion per year just to tread water fiscally. It buys us nothing but another year. If we had not run up this massive debt in past years, what could we do with that $379 billion/year today?
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_United_States_federal_budget
[3] http://www.polidiotic.com/by-the-numbers/us-national-debt-by-year/
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_United_States_federal_budget
[5] http://www.polidiotic.com/by-the-numbers/us-national-debt-by-year/
[6] https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BUDGET-2017-BUD/pdf/BUDGET-2017-BUD.pdf#page=123
[7] https://www.usdebtclock.org/
[8] https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BUDGET-2021-BUD/pdf/BUDGET-2021-BUD-26.pdf
End of Clinton/Start of Bush II (FY2001): Debt: $5.8 trillion.[1] Interest on that debt $206 billion.[2]
End of Bush/Start of Obama (FY2009): Debt $11.9 trillion.[3] Interest in that debt: $260 billion.[4]
End of Obama/start of Trump (FY2017): Debt: $20.2 trillion.[5] Interest on that debt: $304 billion.[6]
End of Trump/Start of Biden (FY 2021): Debt $27.8 trillion.[7] Interest on that debt: $379 billion.[8]
We are now paying $379 billion per year just to tread water fiscally. It buys us nothing but another year. If we had not run up this massive debt in past years, what could we do with that $379 billion/year today?
[1] http://www.polidiotic.com/by-the-numbers/us-national-debt-by-year/[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_United_States_federal_budget
[3] http://www.polidiotic.com/by-the-numbers/us-national-debt-by-year/
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_United_States_federal_budget
[5] http://www.polidiotic.com/by-the-numbers/us-national-debt-by-year/
[6] https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BUDGET-2017-BUD/pdf/BUDGET-2017-BUD.pdf#page=123
[7] https://www.usdebtclock.org/
[8] https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BUDGET-2021-BUD/pdf/BUDGET-2021-BUD-26.pdf