English: U.S. Debt and Debt Relative to GDP - 2010 Budget

Understanding the diagram

Total debt will nearly double in dollar terms between 2009 and 2015 and will grow to 100% of GDP, versus a level of approximately 60% when President Bush took office in 2001 and 75% when he left office in 2008. President Obama and multiple government sources including the GAO, Treasury Department, and CBO have said the U.S. is on an unsustainable fiscal path. The 100% level is considered a dangerous level by some economists, as such a high debt level creates a risk of currency devaluation (a tacit form of default, by paying back the debt with cheaper currency). Investors (including other governments) compensate for this risk by demanding higher interest rates, which would slow domestic U.S. growth. In addition, a higher debt requires larger interest payments, which presently exceed $430 billion dollars (cash interest plus accrued), or about 15 cents of every tax dollar for 2008. According to the CIA Factbook, only six other countries have debt to GDP ratios over 100% for 2008, the largest of which is Japan at 170%^[1]