If you look at the debt-to-GDP ratios and identify the spikes, you will see there were two recent(ish) events that overwhelmingly inflated the debt. 1) 2008 hou

If you look at the debt-to-GDP ratios and identify the spikes, you will see there were two recent(ish) events that overwhelmingly inflated the debt. 1) 2008 housing crash. Bailing out Wall Street was expensive. 2) Covid-related spending (2020-2022). The interesting thing is that both occurred during transitions in the party of the president, with unchanged policies no matter who gained power. Contrary to the my side did it, no your side did it, blame game that always accompanies these sort of stories. As usual, George Carlin was right. "It's a big club and you ain't in it."