The public debt increases when?

Public debt increases whenever the government borrows more money than it pays back.

its all of the money borrowed by the government over the years and not yet repaid, plus the accumulated interest on that money.

In 2004 the public debt of the United States was $739.1 billion. This amounted to $25,182 per capita for the United States. In contrast, the debt per capita in 1990 was $13,000. The interest paid in...

Politicians get elected by making voters happy. Voters always want more public spending and less taxes. The only way to have both of those things at once is to borrow money. So politicians borrow...

Need for public debt:During period of inflation and deflation it is a sound fiscal weapon.