One chart that tells the story of US debt from 1790 to 2011, just how the United States managed to become the world’s biggest debtor

$16.2 trillion. As the high-stakes wrangling over the fiscal cliff gets underway, we though it might be the proper moment to remind everybody just how the United States managed to become the world’s biggest debtor.

So, here’s how.

Freedom isn’t free

The US was born in debt. The earliest full reckoning of US national debt was compiled by Alexander Hamilton, the first US Treasury Secretary, who was sort of like the Nate Silver of his era—a self-taught economist.

Read more [link to qz.com]