America’s debt is in the trillions—and yet, like those who worry about borrowing five dollars but not about their unaffordable mortgage, Americans fail to pay attention to this serious situation. The press hovers over annual budgets and the associated deficits (and rare surpluses), but pays little attention to the national debt and even less to the interest spent serving it. Federal politicians seem as powerless to control the debt as they are uninformed about its nature.
After tracing fluctuations in the finances of the country from its beginning until 1940, this book examines the administrations of the next 12 presidents (FDR through George W. Bush) and the annual budget deficits and interest expenses that fed the national debt. The startup debt of each administration is shown; then the change in debt through the end of the administration is analyzed to show what areas of government incurred overspending and how much was overspent. Also included are brief biographies of each president, and discussions of foreign and domestic situations, including judicial decisions and sociological changes, that affected fiscal policies and fueled the urge to overspend.

Retired CPA, corporate executive and management consultant Robert E. Kelly is an author and an award-winning journalist. He lives in Beverly, Massachusetts.

Robert E. Kelly
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 393
Bibliographic Info: tables, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2008
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3233-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0494-7
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii

Foreword by Nelson K. Benton      1

Introduction      5

1. Background 1789–1940      15

2. Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1941–1944      29

3. Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S Truman, 1945–1948      44

4. Harry S Truman, 1949–1952      55

5. Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953–1956      68

6. Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1957–1960      81

7. John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, 1961–1964      95

8. Lyndon B. Johnson, 1965–1968      111

9. Richard M. Nixon, 1969–1972      127

10. Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford, 1973–1976      145

11. Jimmy Carter, 1977–1980      164

12. Ronald W. Reagan, 1981–1984      182

13. Ronald W. Reagan, 1985–1988      205

14. George H.W. Bush, 1989–1992      225

15. William J. Clinton, 1993–1996      247

16. William J. Clinton, 1997–2000      268

17. George W. Bush, 2001–2004      289

18. George W. Bush, 2005–2008      315

Conclusion      337

Appendices      355

Chapter Notes      379

Bibliography      387

Index      389

“detailed…easily accessible…especially useful…abundant time-sequenced tables…recommended”—Choice; “every serious political activist should own a copy. A fascinating read, with everything you really need to know about the federal government in one compact place”—The Activist News.