I know it’s a lot to remember way back to the 90s, but the Clinton presidency was based on an aggressive program of deficit and debt reduction. It worked extremely well and without major inflation, to the point that the Federal Reserve chairman actually began to publicly fret about government debt levels becoming too low. But then in the 2000s it was completely reversed by a Republican President and away we went. Both Democratic and Republican administrations have accumulated debt since. But the lesson I took from this was (1) the US can reduce deficits if it wants to (and without inflation), and (2) don’t believe political rhetoric about spending or fiscal responsibility unless you see action.

Also makes me wish the Iraq war spending had been put into climate change prevention. Can only imagine how much better off we’d all be today.

Which sort of describes stagnation. Clinton takes it one way, Bush another. It’s net zero with America from what it looks like.