[TheRealThing]

https://www.propublica.org/article/national-debt-trump

Trump had the third-biggest primary deficit growth, 5.2% of GDP, behind only George W. Bush (11.7%) and Abraham Lincoln (9.4%). Bush, of course, not only passed a big tax cut, as Trump has, but also launched two wars, which greatly inflated the defense budget. Lincoln had to pay for the Civil War. By contrast, Trump’s wars have been almost entirely of the political variety.

Trump is only behind Obama as far as total dollars added to the deficit, but I guess he can brag that he was able to do it in half the time as Obama.   Trump's biggest contribution to the deficit is probably when he lowered the Corporate tax rate by 40%.  I really do not feel like that benefited the average American very much.

I didn't say a lot about the deficit during the Trump era. Economists said the growth we saw associated with his policies would more than offset the increase in spending for that time period. As of March of 2020 and by all indications that did look to be the case. We did see the best employment numbers for sure since Reagan and maybe ever. Best ever employment for minorities and women. Home values went up substantially, we became energy independent, manufacturing was looking up as was the banking sector. One of the biggest drivers of the borrowing we did was due to a military which compared to it's former glory, looked like a bunch of hobos with sharp sticks. That situation had to be rectified.

There is only one reason America did not get to see all of the things promised come to pass. Covid-19. What started to be 15 days to slow the spread has since become 15 months to slow the economy dead. Trump screamed his head off about it but states are sovereign in this union, and governors did their thing. An aside on that... Where it came to defying the President's wishes on opening back up Dem governors all of a sudden, were all about the Founder's view regarding state's sovereignty. But now they're back to doing whatever the 'guidance' to put it politely, is coming out of the Oval. Funny thing how that works for Dems is it not?

At any rate, the average American likely was not benefited all that much, but I would have been very interested to see where we all stood on that point by 2024. Notwithstanding, the stock market did do well, many floundering pension programs were restored, 401k's and savings were up as well. But now the blue states awash in mismanaged budget crisis to include Kentucky, even if it does always go red for presidents, did get bailed out by the 2 trillion stimulus. And every taxpayer has a 14 thousand dollar note to pay off as the result. Borrowing for the US military is one thing (and I know that one issue does not account for the entirety of the borrowing) but borrowing for the sake of handing it out to poorly run state government is a travesty. Taxpayers are not to be treated like piñatas.