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| US debt ceiling: how big is it and how has it changed? | US debt ceiling: how big is it and how has it changed? |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The US has hit its debt ceiling. As of December 31 2012, the US Treasury says | The US has hit its debt ceiling. As of December 31 2012, the US Treasury says |
| I can confirm we will reach the statutory debt limit today, Dec. 31 | I can confirm we will reach the statutory debt limit today, Dec. 31 |
| It has gone up from an unimaginable $14.3 trillion in August last year to $16.394tn as part of a package agreed then. After the fiscal cliff deal, the level of the debt ceiling is the next big debate to be had. | It has gone up from an unimaginable $14.3 trillion in August last year to $16.394tn as part of a package agreed then. After the fiscal cliff deal, the level of the debt ceiling is the next big debate to be had. |
| But what is the debt ceiling? Under US law, all government borrowing has to be approved by Congress, and they do this by limiting the amount that can be borrowed: this is the debt ceiling. | But what is the debt ceiling? Under US law, all government borrowing has to be approved by Congress, and they do this by limiting the amount that can be borrowed: this is the debt ceiling. |
| The latest figures, taking into account the new raise, show that: | The latest figures, taking into account the new raise, show that: |
| • The debt ceiling has been changed 104 times since 1944 - 94 increases and 10 decreases • It has been raised 54 times by Republicans, 40 times by Democrats • Ronald Reagan increased the debt ceiling by 18 times, followed by Jimmy Carter and Lyndon Johnson by 10 times and George Bush Sr by 9 times • So far, Barack Obama has raised the debt ceiling by six times - less than George W Bush's 7 times | • The debt ceiling has been changed 104 times since 1944 - 94 increases and 10 decreases • It has been raised 54 times by Republicans, 40 times by Democrats • Ronald Reagan increased the debt ceiling by 18 times, followed by Jimmy Carter and Lyndon Johnson by 10 times and George Bush Sr by 9 times • So far, Barack Obama has raised the debt ceiling by six times - less than George W Bush's 7 times |
| The previous time it went up, in February 2010, the figure increased to $14.294 trillion. The debt reached that limit and was then raised by $400bn. | The previous time it went up, in February 2010, the figure increased to $14.294 trillion. The debt reached that limit and was then raised by $400bn. |
| According to estimates from the last US budget, that debt is predicted to keep going up - to $21.3tn by the end of 2017. We've also looked at the size of the US national debt and the size of foreign holdings of US treasury bonds here. | According to estimates from the last US budget, that debt is predicted to keep going up - to $21.3tn by the end of 2017. We've also looked at the size of the US national debt and the size of foreign holdings of US treasury bonds here. |
| We've extracted the full data from a mix of the White House OMB's historic budget tables, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis and the US Treasury to show how the ceiling has changed since 1940, and which party was in power at the time. | We've extracted the full data from a mix of the White House OMB's historic budget tables, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis and the US Treasury to show how the ceiling has changed since 1940, and which party was in power at the time. |
| Although the Democrats have raised the ceiling less than Republicans - the average amounts have been bigger percentage increases (not accounting for inflation) from one to another. | |
| But is has gone down too - on a few occasions since 1940. | But is has gone down too - on a few occasions since 1940. |
| You can download the full data below. What can you do with it? | You can download the full data below. What can you do with it? |
| Data summary | Data summary |
| US Debt ceiling - and who was in power | US Debt ceiling - and who was in power |
| % changes from one ceiling limit to another. Click heading to sort. Download this - and more - data | |
| SOURCES: BEA, WHITE HOUSE, US TREASURY | SOURCES: BEA, WHITE HOUSE, US TREASURY |
| Download the data | Download the data |
| • DATA: download the full spreadsheet | • DATA: download the full spreadsheet |
| More open data | More open data |
| Data journalism and data visualisations from the Guardian | Data journalism and data visualisations from the Guardian |
| World government data | World government data |
| • Search the world's government data with our gateway | • Search the world's government data with our gateway |
| Development and aid data | Development and aid data |
| • Search the world's global development data with our gateway | • Search the world's global development data with our gateway |
| Can you do something with this data? | Can you do something with this data? |
| • Flickr Please post your visualisations and mash-ups on our Flickr group • Contact us at data@guardian.co.uk | • Flickr Please post your visualisations and mash-ups on our Flickr group • Contact us at data@guardian.co.uk |
| • Get the A-Z of data • More at the Datastore directory • Follow us on Twitter • Like us on Facebook | • Get the A-Z of data • More at the Datastore directory • Follow us on Twitter • Like us on Facebook |
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