It took 189 years for the debt to reach $1 trillion, Senator

Posted on: July 4, 2025 at 06:15:13 CT

Senator John H. Chafee, Republican of Rhode Island, observed, and only four years to double to $2 trillion, all during the administration of a President who once promised to balance the budget.

But Congress readily allows that it shares a large part of the responsibility for the rise and has no choice but to grant the Treasury's request.
The one-year, $250 billion increase in the debt ceiling that the Treasury says it needs for the fiscal year 1986 is about the same as the total national debt in 1945, when the Government was financing World War II.

http://www.nytimes.com/1985/09/15/us/a-2-trillion-national-debt-not-just-another-milestone.html
(This article is from 1985)

Was Raegan the greatest president of all time, besides Trump?

When is the last time the federal government had a surplus?

Additionally, I’m not suggesting a surplus itself is a good thing, because should the government be ran like a for profit business?

Edited by KCT-BoneTiger at 06:19:52 on 07/04/25