Here is an updated version of a non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities chart.
Notice that in addition to the Bush tax cuts, two wars plays no small roll in this scenario.
Expiration date:
…simply letting the Bush tax cuts expire on schedule (or paying for any portions that policymakers decide to extend) would stabilize the debt-to-GDP ratio for the next decade. While we’d have to do much more to keep the debt stable over the longer run, that would be a huge accomplishment.
I couldn’t help but notice that with the Bush tax cuts, the whole thing forms the tail of an enormous slug.
Everything was manageable and the debt was going down until the Republicans got a three-branch majority in 2000.
Republicans only ruin the economy and take our god-given rights away from us. That’s the only thing Republicans do.