Analyzing 250 Years of US Government Spending, Tax Revenue and National Debt
TL/DR –
Matthew Dickerson marked the 250th anniversary of the United States’ declaration of independence by sharing three charts showing changes in the U.S. government’s spending, tax revenues, and publicly held portion of the national debt over the last 25 years as a percentage of the country’s GDP. He noted that the national debt as we know it didn’t come into being until 1790, when the new U.S. government assumed the debts of the 13 states and the national government of the Confederation era. It was also pointed out that the U.S. government’s debt-to-GDP ratio is much higher today because Dickerson’s chart only considers the publicly held portion of the national debt; when considering the total public debt outstanding, the total national debt-to-GDP ratio in 2025 is almost 131%.
July 4, 2026: 250 Years of US Independence and its Impact on National Economy
July 4, 2026, acknowledged the 250th anniversary of the United States’ secession from the British Empire. Matthew Dickerson shared three charts displaying the evolution of the U.S. government’s expenditure, tax income, and the public share of the national debt over 25 years, relative to the GDP.
The United States, initially 13 British colonies, formed a fledgling national government called the Continental Congress in 1776. The Articles of Confederation were enacted in 1777, but a national government did not materialize until 1781. The U.S. federal government was formally established in 1789 with the U.S. Constitution, and the national debt as we know it began in 1790 when the U.S. government absorbed the debts of the 13 states.
Because of this history, Dickerson’s national debt chart displays only 235 years of the national debt as a ratio of the GDP, from 1790 through 2025. The chart begins with a high debt level due to the Revolutionary War, larger than the debt surges from the War of 1812, Civil War, and World War I.
The Great Depression and the New Deal era spending caused national debt to rise, with World War II pushing it to new levels. This peak has only recently been surpassed due to the 2008 financial crisis, government bailouts of financial institutions and the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic.
However, the full picture isn’t represented. The U.S. government’s current debt-to-GDP ratio is higher as Dickerson’s chart only considers the publicly held portion of the national debt, which is 101%. But if we take into account the total public debt outstanding, the total national debt-to-GDP ratio in 2025 is almost 131%.
Regardless of how it’s computed, the nation’s debt-to-GDP ratio will be higher by the end of the U.S. government’s 2026 fiscal year on September 30.
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