U.S. debt growth 1969-2023, by president

Adding to national debt is an inevitable fact of being President of the United States. The extent to which debt rises under any sitting president depends not only on the policy and spending choices they have made, but also the choices made by presidents and congresses that have come before them. Ronald Reagan and George W. BushPresident Ronald Reagan increased the U.S. debt by around 1.86 trillion U.S. dollars, or 186.36 percent. This is often attributed to "Reaganomics," in which Reagan implemented significant supply-side economic policies in which he reduced government regulation, cut taxes, and tightened the money supply. Spending increased under President George W. Bush in light of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. To finance the wars, President Bush chose to borrow the money, rather than use war bonds or increase taxes, unlike previous war-time presidents. Additionally, Bush introduced a number of tax cuts, and oversaw the beginning of the 2008 financial crisis. Barack ObamaPresident Obama inherited both wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the financial crisis. The Obama administration also did not increase taxes to pay for the wars, and additionally passed expensive legislation to kickstart the economy following the economic crash, as well as the Affordable Care Act in 2010. The ACA expanded healthcare coverage to cover more than 30 million more Americans through programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Though controversial at the time, more than half of Americans have a favorable view of the ACA in 2023. Additionally, he signed legislation making the W. Bush-era tax cuts permanent.

累加国家债务是美国总统职位不可避免的事实。在任何在任总统任期内债务增长的程度，不仅取决于他们所做出的政策和支出选择，还取决于前任总统和国会所做出的选择。美国总统罗纳德·里根使得美国债务增加了约1.86万亿美元，即186.36%。这通常归因于所谓的“里根经济学”，其中里根实施了重大的供给侧经济政策，减少了政府监管，降低了税收，并紧缩了货币供应。乔治·W·布什总统在伊拉克和阿富汗战争的背景下增加了支出。为了资助战争，布什总统选择借款，而不是像前战争时期的总统那样使用战争债券或增加税收。此外，布什总统还引入了一系列减税措施，并监管了2008年金融危机的初期。巴拉克·奥巴马总统继承了伊拉克和阿富汗战争以及金融危机。奥巴马政府也没有增加税收来支付战争费用，并且在经济崩溃后通过了昂贵的立法来刺激经济，以及2010年的平价医疗法案（Affordable Care Act）。该法案通过医疗保险和医疗补助等计划，将医疗保障扩大至超过3000万美国人。尽管当时颇具争议，但截至2023年，超过一半的美国人对该法案持正面看法。此外，他还签署了使乔治·W·布什时代的减税措施永久化的立法。