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Wednesday, August 2, 2017

The U.S. was in debt even in its first yearly report on January 1, 1791, in the amount of $75,463,476.52. Every president since Truman has added to the national debt.

When Reagan took office, U.S. debt was under $1 trillion. After he left eight years later, debt was $2.6 trillion and the U.S. had moved from being the world's largest international creditor to the world's largest debtor nation.

When the U.S. debt reached 100% of its GDP in 2011, it joined Japan (229%), Greece (152%), Jamaica (137%), Lebanon (134%), Italy (120%), Ireland (114%), and Iceland (103%) as other countries whose public debt exceeds their GDP.

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Today's Random Fact:

The U.S. debt ceiling was created in 1917 at a limit of $11.5 billion during WWI to allow greater simplicity and flexibility during the war by allowing the Treasury to borrow any amount it needed as long as the amount was below this limit. Prior to this, Congress had to approve each issuance of debt. To change the debt ceiling, Congress needs to enact specific legislation and the President must approve the legislation.

The U.S. government borrows approximately $5 billion every business day.

The U.S. government pays more than $1 billion each day just on interest on its debt.




Bonus Fact:

In 2008, U.S. households lost an estimated 18% of their net worth, equaling approximately an $11.2 trillion loss. This collapse was the largest since the Federal Reserve began tracking household wealth after WWII.