Monday August 1, 2011 2:10 PM

Note that on the total debt chart in the last post the previous spike in debt was in 1932. It was not due to financing WWII but reflects the economic crash in the early years of the Great Depression. However, the recent explosion in debt, except for the last four years, occurred before the start of the (2008—) Great Recession. If you’re having trouble reading the chart just click on the chart to expand it.