The United States began incurring debt before gaining independence, when colonial leaders borrowed money from France and the Netherlands to gain independence from Great Britain . The Continental Congress, the predecessor of the United States Congress to tax citizens, contributed to the growth of the debt. By 1790, it had topped $75 million, with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 30 percent, according to an account presented that year by Alexander Hamilton, the first U.S. Treasury secretary. The economy grew and its debt decreased, but during the War of 1812, the debt grew again. Andrew Jackson took over the office in 1828, sold the federal land, and paid off all of the $58 million debt. However, a recession followed and the United States had no choice but to go into debt. During World War II, US debt rose above 77 and in the post-war years it fell to 24% of GDP. In the 1990s, debt measures were taken, such as increasing taxes, which helped reduce the debt (History.com Editors, 2018). Currently, the US national debt has been increasing over the year since 2013, in 2017 it was $20 trillion and 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 Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay Comparing the United States to other industrialized countries yields the largest share in terms of national debt. For example, in 2017, Japan had a national debt of ($9.087 billion), Italy had a national debt of ($2.48 billion), Spain had a national debt of ($1.24), Singapore had a national debt of ($254 billion) ) and the United States of America had the highest national debt of $19.23 trillion (Stashinvest, 2017). During the reign of President GW Bush and Barack Obama, these countries are blamed for the increase in national debt. Notably, during the reign of GW Bush, the national debt had a budget deficit of $3.29 trillion, financed through borrowing, thus increasing the national debt. The September 11 terrorist attacks dramatically reshaped the U.S. economy, where military spending soared to $600. billion/year and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were the main cost. He undertook a tax cut which reduced government revenue and also there was a recession which added together increased the national debt. During Obama's reign, military spending increased to $800 billion a year to finance two legacy wars, and deficits totaled $6.785 trillion. Health care programs like Medicare and Social Security have become more expensive as the population ages, and these have also increased spending. Tax cuts and the great recession of 2008 also played a significant role in increasing the national debt and during its time, the national debt increased by $8.335 trillion (Daniel, 2019). Higher national debts have four main consequences which include; the reduction in savings and national income translates into higher interest payments, which leads to large tax increases and spending cuts, results in a lower ability to respond to problems and also poses a greater risk of fiscal crisis (Alesina&Passalacqua , 2016). These consequences have been observed in the United States where; large and sustained federal deficits cause decreased investment and increased interest rates. With greater debt