The United States began falling into debt before gaining independence, when colonial rulers borrowed money from France and the Netherlands Down to gain their independence from Great Britain. The Continental Congress, the predecessor to the U.S. Congress, taxed citizens, which contributed to rising debt. In 1790, it exceeded $75 million, with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 30%, according to a report presented that year by Alexander Hamilton, the first secretary of the US Treasury. The economy grew and its debt decreased, but during the War of 1812, the debt increased further. Andrew Jackson took over the post in 1828, sold federal lands, and paid off the entire $58 million debt. However, a recession ensued and the United States had no choice but to borrow. During World War II, U.S. debt exceeded 77% and fell to 24% of GDP in the postwar years. In the 1990s, debt measures were implemented, such as increased taxes, which helped reduce debt (History.com Editors, 2018). Currently, the US national debt has been increasing over the years since 2013, it stood at $20 trillion in 2017, and it is expected to reach $33 million by 2028 if the trend continues. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay When comparing the United States with other industrialized countries, it accounts for the largest share of the national debt. For example, in 2017, Japan had a national debt of (9,087 billion US dollars), Italy had a national debt of (2,480 billion US dollars), Spain had a national debt of (1, 24 billion US dollars), Singapore had a national debt of (254 billion US dollars). ) and the United States of America recorded the highest national debt of 19.23 trillion US dollars (Stashinvest, 2017). Under the reigns of Presidents GW Bush and Barack Obama, they were blamed for the increase in the national debt. In particular, under the reign of GW Bush, the national debt had a budget deficit of $3.29 trillion which was financed by borrowing, thus increasing the national debt. The terrorist attacks of September 11 radically reshaped the American economy where military spending soared to $600. billion dollars per year and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were the main expenses. He undertook a tax cut which reduced government revenue and there was also a recession, which led to an increase in the national debt. Under Obama's rule, military spending increased to $800 billion a year to finance two legacy wars and deficits rose to $6.785 billion. Safety net programs like Medicare and Social Security have become more expensive as the population ages, and these expenses have also increased. Tax cuts and the Great Recession of 2008 also played a significant role in increasing the national debt, and during its period, the national debt increased by $8.335 billion (Daniel, 2019). Higher national debts have four main consequences: ; lower savings and national income lead to higher interest payments, leading to large tax rises and spending cuts, leads to reduced capacity to respond to problems and also poses greater risk budgetary crisis (Alesina and Passalacqua, 2016). These consequences were observed in