Debt Growth in a Time of Debt Growth

Lookin'at this debt graph again --

Graph #1

It's the same as Graph #1 from yesterday. Just the colors are different. And I added the word TOTAL to the title.

Lookin at just the latter two data sources --

Graph #2

I got rid of the oldest source data, the mismatched data. Looking at what remains, we have debt info for 54 years. The second half, the right-hand part, is a lot higher than the left-hand part. How much higher? How much more did debt grow in the more recent years?

Breaking the 54-year period into two equal parts --

Graph #3

I split up the numbers into two 27-year periods, and then looked at the increase of debt in each period. In the first period, total debt as a percent of GDP was 25.5% higher in 1982 than it was in 1956. In the second period, total debt as a percent of GDP was 99.65% higher in 2009 than it was in 1983.

A 25% increase in the first period, and a 100% increase in the second period. Debt grew four times as fast in the more recent period. Relative to GDP.


I WAS BORN IN 1949. ONE YEAR LATER, IN 1950, I WAS ONE YEAR OLD. ONE YEAR HAD ELAPSED. BUT IF I HAD DEBT DATA FOR 1949 AND 1950, THAT WOULD BE TWO YEARS' WORTH OF NUMBERS.

I HAVE 27 YEAR'S WORTH OF DEBT DATA, BUT ONLY 26 YEARS ELAPSED FROM THE FIRST TO THE LAST. TWO PERIODS LIKE THAT ARE SHOWN ON GRAPH #3.

ART