Ready-made assignment · Civics and government

Civics chart assignment

Six charts on the federal budget from the U.S. Treasury and the Social Security Trustees: where the government's money comes from, where it goes, how much it borrows and who lends it.

  1. Where does federal revenue come from?
  2. Where does federal spending go?
  3. How big is the federal deficit each year?
  4. How big is the federal debt compared with the economy?
  5. Who owns the US national debt?
  6. When will Social Security's trust funds run out?

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Chart 1 of 6 · Federal budget

Where does federal revenue come from?

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Individual income taxes brought in $2.85 trillion of the government's $5.4 trillion in fiscal 2026, about 53%. Payroll taxes for Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance ("social insurance") added $1.81 trillion, and corporate income taxes $381 billion.

Questions to discuss

  1. Which source brings in the most money? About what share of the total is it?
  2. Payroll taxes pay for Social Security and Medicare. Who pays them, and how do they show up on a paycheck?
  3. Congress decides tax rates. If it wanted to raise more money, which of these sources might it change, and who would that affect?

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

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Chart 2 of 6 · Federal budget

Where does federal spending go?

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Social Security was the biggest item in fiscal 2026 at $1.67 trillion, out of $7.4 trillion in total. Next came Medicare ($1.07 trillion), Net Interest ($1.05 trillion), Health ($1.03 trillion) and National Defense ($965 billion). Two accounting lines are below zero, so the bars add up to the total.

Questions to discuss

  1. What are the three biggest items the government spends on?
  2. Which of these does Congress vote on every year, and which are paid automatically under existing laws?
  3. Pick one item. How does it affect people you know?

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

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Chart 3 of 6 · Federal budget

How big is the federal deficit each year?

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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 which years did the government spend more than it collected? Are there any years it didn't?
  2. Find the biggest deficit on the chart. What happened that year?
  3. The deficit isn't adjusted for inflation. Why does that make years decades apart hard to compare?

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

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Chart 4 of 6 · Federal budget

How big is the federal debt compared with the economy?

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At the end of fiscal 2026 the federal debt was 125% of a year's GDP, everything the U.S. economy produces in a year. It fell from 96% in 1948 to a low of 32% in 1981, passed 100% in 2013 and jumped to 126% in 2020. This is total debt, including what the government owes its own trust funds, divided by GDP over the same fiscal year; it starts in 1948 because BEA's quarterly GDP starts in 1947, and recent GDP figures are revised.

How to read this chart

Each point divides the federal government's total debt by GDP, everything the U.S. economy produces in a year. At 100%, the debt equals one year of the whole economy's output. Comparing debt with the economy's size, instead of in dollars, makes years decades apart fair to compare.

Questions to discuss

  1. When was the debt smallest compared with the economy, and when was it largest?
  2. The debt can grow in dollars while this percentage falls. How is that possible?
  3. Pick a big jump on the chart. What events could make the government borrow much more in a short time?

Source: U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data, Historical Debt Outstanding; GDP from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (NIPA Table 1.1.5) (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Sep 30, 2026

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Chart 5 of 6 · Federal budget

Who owns the US national debt?

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At the end of August 2026 the federal debt was $40.2 trillion. Other U.S. investors (banks, mutual funds, pension funds, state and local governments and people) held $18.5 trillion, 46%. Foreign investors held $9.33 trillion (23%), federal trust funds such as Social Security's held $7.76 trillion (19%), and the Federal Reserve $4.55 trillion (11%). Foreign holdings are Treasury's TIC estimate, partly at market value, and the U.S. share is what's left after the others, so the split is approximate.

Questions to discuss

  1. Which group holds the biggest share of the federal debt?
  2. Part of the debt is owed to the government's own trust funds. How can the government owe money to itself?
  3. Many people think foreign countries own most of the debt. What does the chart say?

Source: U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data, Debt to the Penny; U.S. Treasury, TIC Major Foreign Holders of Treasury Securities; Federal Reserve Bank of New York, SOMA Holdings (Treasury data public domain (U.S. government work). The SOMA Holdings data is subject to the Terms of Use posted at newyorkfed.org; the New York Fed is not responsible for publication.) · Data as of Aug 31, 2026

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Chart 6 of 6 · Federal budget

When will Social Security's trust funds run out?

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The Trustees' latest projection has Social Security's combined trust funds down to $183 billion at the end of 2033 and running out the year after. Their reserves peaked at $2.91 trillion in 2020. The 2026 report found that once they run out, taxes coming in would still pay about 83% of scheduled benefits unless Congress acts, and that the retirement fund alone runs out in late 2032. Years after 2025 are the Trustees' middle (intermediate) projection, in dollars of each year.

Questions to discuss

  1. When did the trust funds' reserves peak, and when do the Trustees project they run out?
  2. Running out of reserves does not stop benefits, because taxes still come in. What choices could Congress make before then?
  3. This is a projection, not a measurement. What could make it turn out differently?

Source: Social Security Administration, 2026 OASDI Trustees Report, Table VI.G2 (combined OASI and DI Trust Funds, intermediate assumptions) (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Dec 31, 2025

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