According to the Congressional Budget Office’s recent estimates of President Obama’s current budget proposal, debt held by the public relative to the size of the economy is heading toward heights last seen since the end of the Second World War:

The ending of hostilities and a post-war economic boom lead to a steady and precipitous drop in the debt as a share of the economy. In the present day, it is entitlement spending that’s driving the debt explosion. Therefore, if the debt is to be brought under control, policymakers are going to have to rein in entitlement spending. Unfortunately, the president’s expansion of the government’s role in health care will exacerbate the problem, despite the admininstration’s claims otherwise.