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 US national debt?
  2. Are U.S. roads getting safer per mile driven?

Chart 1 of 2 · Federal budget

How big is the US national debt?

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

At the end of fiscal year 2026 the debt was $40.2 trillion, about 4 times the $10 trillion of 2008. In 1835 it had been paid down to about $34,000. Each point is the debt on the last day of that fiscal year (since 1977, September 30), in dollars of the day, not adjusted for inflation.

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, Historical Debt Outstanding (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Sep 30, 2026

Open the chart and its numbers

Chart 2 of 2 · Road safety

Are U.S. roads getting safer per mile driven?

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

In 2024 there were 1.19 deaths for every 100 million miles driven, down from 3.35 in 1980. The lowest rate was 1.08 in 2014; it jumped to 1.34 in 2020, when people drove less but deaths rose. Miles driven are the Federal Highway Administration's estimates.

How to read this chart

Each point is the number of people killed in traffic crashes for every 100 million miles Americans drove that year. Dividing by miles driven turns a count into a rate, so years when people drove more or less can be compared fairly.

Questions to discuss

  1. About what fraction of the 1980 rate is the rate in the latest year?
  2. In 2020 people drove less, but the rate went up. What could explain that?
  3. Why is deaths per mile a fairer way to compare years than the total number of deaths?

Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and FHWA Highway Statistics (table VM-2) (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Dec 31, 2024

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