Actually it's the republicans and the rise of right wing conservatism that did that. Reagan did nothing but spend money that the country didn't have and it basically set the prescedent for every other president (except clinton, who understood that you need to actually have money before you can spend it) to do exactly the same thing.
Try FDR and Theodore. The New Deal era was a precursor to the further damage.
Not strictly true. The New Deal worked until 1937 when FDR lost his nerve and cut public spending throwing American back into recession. The UK was embarking on re-armament at the time and was saved by that extra boost of cash.