Chart assignment

Charts to read and discuss

Read each chart, then answer its questions. Every chart shows its source and date; open it for a table of the numbers and the data to download.

  1. How big is the federal deficit each year?

Chart 1 of 1 · Federal budget

How big is the federal deficit each year?

The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.

The government spent $1.99 trillion more than it collected in fiscal 2026. The gap reached $3.13 trillion in 2020, during the pandemic. The deficit is spending minus revenue, not adjusted for inflation; Treasury's API has these statements from fiscal 2015.

Questions to discuss

  1. In one sentence of your own, what does this chart show?
  2. Find the biggest change or difference in the chart. What might explain it?
  3. Who collected these numbers, and how recent are they? What else would you want to know before drawing a conclusion?

Source: U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data, Monthly Treasury Statement (Table 9) (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Sep 30, 2026

Open the chart and its numbers

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