US Government & Fiscal Policy
The size of the federal balance sheet, the people who staff government, the cash flowing in and out of Treasury, the money supply that backs it all, and the Federal Reserve’s footprint on top — eight charts that together describe the financial weight of the U.S. public sector. Sourced live from the U.S. Treasury (Fiscal Data API), the Federal Reserve via FRED, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Latest data: …
Time range:
Tip: click any legend label below a chart to hide or show that series. Each chart can be downloaded as a CSV. Time range applies to all charts at once — some series only run back a few decades, in which case “Max” will show the full available history.
Federal Debt Outstanding
(Total Public Debt, $ Trillions, Daily; Vertical Lines Mark Each Trillion-Dollar Threshold Crossed)
Source: U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data — Debt to the Penny.
Download CSV
Government Employment
(Federal on Left Axis, State + Local Combined on Right Axis; Both in Millions of Workers)
Source: BLS Current Employment Statistics via FRED — CES9091000001 (Federal), CES9092000001 (State), CES9093000001 (Local).
Download CSV
Federal Outlays vs. Receipts
(Trailing-12-Month Sums, $ Billions; The Gap Between the Lines = the Federal Deficit)
Source: U.S. Treasury Monthly Treasury Statement via FRED — MTSO133FMS (Outlays), MTSR133FMS (Receipts).
Download CSV
M2 Money Supply
(Level in $ Trillions on Left Axis; Year-over-Year Percent Change on Right Axis)
Source: Federal Reserve H.6 via FRED — M2SL.
Download CSV
Federal Reserve Balance Sheet
(Stacked Composition: Treasuries, Mortgage-Backed Securities, All Other Assets, $ Billions, Weekly; Green Lines = Easing Programs Announced, Red Lines = Tightening / QT Began)
Source: Federal Reserve H.4.1 via FRED — WALCL (Total Assets), TREAST (Treasuries), WSHOMCB (MBS); “Other” computed as the residual.
Download CSV
Tariff Revenue
(Customs Duties Collected, $ Billions, Monthly; Gold Areas = Trump Terms in Office, Gray Areas = NBER Recessions)
Source: U.S. Treasury Monthly Treasury Statement (Receipts by Source) via the Treasury Fiscal Data API.
Download CSV
Federal Interest Expense
(Annualized Quarterly Rate, $ Billions; The Cost of Servicing Existing Debt — Now the Third-Largest Federal Outlay)
Source: BEA NIPA Table 3.2 via FRED — A091RC1Q027SBEA (Federal Government Current Expenditures: Interest Payments).
Download CSV
Federal Debt as Percent of GDP
(Total Public Debt ÷ Nominal GDP, %, Quarterly; The Single Most-Cited Sustainability Metric)
Source: U.S. Treasury / BEA via FRED — GFDEGDQ188S.
Download CSV