Change in Debt

Graph #1: Change in Debt from Year Ago, as a Percent of GDP:
BLUE = The Total Debt (TCMDO)
GREEN = The Federal Component of TCMDO
RED = The Non-Federal Component of TCMDO

And they say it's the Federal debt -- the green one -- that's too high. I don't see it.

That last gray bar on the right... About two pixels to the left of that bar, that's when the shit hit the fan. Everything after that point -- everything to the right of that point -- is a consequence of the crisis.

Everything to the left of that point is a cause of the crisis.

(Click graph for FRED source page.)