Ezra Klein of the Washington Post just tweeted around this chart, which short-circuits some of the prevailing myths about who and what are responsible for our deficit problem.
The chart is from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
It breaks down the amount of our national debt, historical and projected, by the budget decision and/or economic phenomenon that’s responsible for it.
The big culprits?
- The Bush tax cuts
- The wars
- The recession
Center On Budget And Policy Priorities
Ezra Klein has more thoughts on the debt here.
UPDATE: Conservatives have taken offense at this chart, arguing that one shouldn’t assume that spending should be unchanged. The Heritage Foundation attacks the chart here.