Here's how much debt the US government added under President Obama

As part of the broader economic legacy of President Obama, from jobs to the stock market, one of the most notable changes has been the increase in the national debt.


As of the third quarter of 2016, the most recent data available, the debt as Obama is set to leave office stands at $19,573,445,000,000.


Thus, the national debt under Obama will have grown by around $9 trillion, or an increase of 86%.

Now some of this debt is attributable to bills passed by Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush. Both Bush and Obama rolled out large investment bills to help the US recover from the depths of the financial crisis.

A majority of economists agree that debt-financed government spending during the depths of a recession is a good way to help mitigate the impact of the crisis and help return the country to economic growth. In addition, the debt may not be a scary as some think, since the US is still in good credit standing and prints the reserve currency of the world.

Additionally, as the Obama administration often notes, the annual deficit has decreased each year of the Obama presidency.

With those facts in mind, the size of the debt increase is quite staggering.


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