Ten Charts Essential to Understanding the Federal Debt

Report Read time:
Projects: Fiscal Federalism
Ten Charts Essential to Understanding the Federal Debt

Since April 2010, the Pew Fiscal Analysis Initiative has published several reports explaining the medium-and long-term fiscal challenges facing the federal government. With stagnating economic conditions and the passage of new legislation, especially the Budget Control Act of 2011, the outlook for the deficit and debt has changed considerably over the past six months.

We have created ten charts that illustrate how the choices made over the last 10 years contributed to our nation's debt and the challenges currently facing the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction.

10 Essential Fiscal Charts (PDF)

A print version of the PDF is available here.

  1. Ten Years of Debt Drivers
  2. Debt Growth by Policy
  3. Long-Term Unemployment
  4. Federal Spending & Revenues
  5. Debt Projections
  6. Budget Control Act Spending Caps
  7. The Joint Select Committee
  8. The Automatic Sequester
  9. Debt Ceiling Scenarios
  10. The Debt Limit & the American Jobs Act
America’s Overdose Crisis
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Quick View
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
MEDIA CONTAct
Jolene Nieves Byzon 215.575.4723
RELATED
Topics
Fiscal & Economic Policy
Projects
Fiscal Federalism
Places
United States

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Suicide is an Urgent Public Health Problem in America

Data Visualization

May 30, 2023 Suicide Is an Urgent Public Health Issue in America
High angle aerial view of Indianapolis and the White River park

Article

May 23, 2023 How States Are Boosting Broadband with Pandemic Funds
Four deer stand nervously in a field of dead grasses next to a thin wire fence. A grove of trees and some brush are visible in the background.

Article

May 22, 2023 Farm Bill Revisions That Would Help Wildlife and Habitat

MORE FROM PEW

Suicide is an Urgent Public Health Problem in America Suicide Is an Urgent Public Health Issue in America
Atlantic bluefin tuna, Mediterranean Sea. Fisheries Management Can Strengthen Compliance
A scuba diver wearing a black full-body wetsuit and a pale-yellow air tank glides through fairly clear, shallow waters above an expansive bed of seagrasses. The diver is holding a thin line that extends toward the surface, and silhouettes of some small fish are visible in the background. How Maps Inform Climate and Conservation Decisions
Three men in baseball caps, visible only from above, are examining dead swordfish—silvery in color and laid out on a concrete floor with their signature swords cut off. There are about a dozen fish on the floor, each about four to five feet long. Japan Poised to Lead on Fisheries Oversight in Pacific
Composite image of modern city network communication concept

Learn the Basics of Broadband from Our Limited Series

Sign up for our four-week email course on Broadband Basics
Quick View

How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?