2021 was a busy year for fiscal policy, which gave us ample opportunities to conduct substantive policy analyses using charts and tables. This year, we published over 210 papers, blog posts, and other products. As we get ready to pop the champagne and ring in the new year, here are our top fiscal charts of 2021.

1. The National Debt is High and Rising

In July, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected debt would rise from 100 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 to a record 106.4 percent of GDP by 2031. Under an alternative scenario where policymakers extend most expiring tax cuts and grow annual appropriations with the economy instead of inflation, debt would reach 122 percent of GDP by FY 2031. 

Since this chart was published, we revised our debt projections to account for the enactment of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), changes to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, and a lower-than-expected deficit in FY 2021. We estimate that under current law debt will reach a record 107.5 percent of GDP by the end of FY 2031.