Congress and President Obama spent a lot of money to stimulate the economy during and after the Great Recession. Total U.S. debt is now over $19 trillion, up from about $10 trillion when Obama took office.

The president has managed to reduce the annual deficits during his tenure, but the U.S. is still spending more money than it takes in.

Many economists keep an eye on the debt-to-GDP ratio, a look at how much debt America has relative to the size of the economy. It has grown sharply under Obama.

When he took office, that ratio was around 50%. Now it's 77%, according to White House estimates for 2016.