So what/if/federal debt is now at an all-time high
| Budget Crisis Propaganda |
Claim: Government debt is at an all-time record high.
This is essentially a meaningless statement as long as there remains a deficit rather than a surplus, which has been the case almost continuously since Ronald Reagan first exploded the national debt in the early 1980s. A "deficit", by definition, means that the debt is higher than before; as long as there is always a deficit, then the debt each year will always be at a "record high".
Clinton Surplus
The one brief pause in this trend was the surplus during Bill Clinton's administration, which is just one of many data points adding to the conclusion that liberal policies are fiscally conservative and Democrats manage money better than Republicans. The primary reason for this is that Republicans and conservatrolls refuse to raise taxes -- especially on the rich -- in order to pay for their various pet projects (mainly wars and tax cuts for the rich).
Unfortunately, the Clinton surplus was not large enough or long-lived enough to significantly reduce the deficit, and the national debt resumed its climb to new "record highs" as soon as George W. Bush took office.