The Big Picture: 124 Years of Finance
A comprehensive look at Receipts (Income), Outlays (Spending), and the resulting Surplus or Deficit from 1900 to 2024.
Receipts vs. Outlays vs. Deficit (1900–2024)
Data Source: OMB Historical Table 1.1 (Current Dollars)
Surplus/Deficit as % of GDP
This normalizes the data for economic growth, showing the true scale of fiscal imbalance relative to the economy.
Federal Revenue: Who Pays?
The evolution of the US Tax Code and revenue sources from 1934 to 2024.
Revenue by Source (Billions $)
The Tax Shift: % of Total Receipts
Federal Spending by Category
A detailed breakdown of where taxpayer dollars go.
Federal Spending by Category (Billions $)
Data Source: Table 3.2 & 5.1 (Functional Breakdown)
Spending by Agency
Which government departments manage the checkbook?
Top Agency Outlays (1962-2024)
Data Source: Table 4.1 (Actual Outlays)
HHS vs. DoD: Budget Authority Crossover
Department of Health and Human Services (Medicare/Medicaid) vs Department of Defense.
Data Source: Table 5.2 (Budget Authority)
The National Debt
Gross Federal Debt and the cost of servicing it.
Debt as % of GDP (1940-2024)
Gross Interest on Treasury Debt (Billions)
Source: Table 5.1 (Subfunction 901)
Structural Rigidity
The shift from Discretionary (Optional) spending to Mandatory (Automatic) spending.
Mandatory vs. Discretionary vs. Interest (% of Total)
(Shrinking Share)
(Growing Share)
(Exploding Share)