INSTITUTE INDEX: The politics of debt

Date that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and other GOP leaders walked out of negotiations with the Obama administration on lifting the U.S. debt ceiling over their opposition to raising more revenue: 6/23/2011

Date that the U.S. is expected to run out of cash unless the debt ceiling is raised: 8/2/2011

Value of U.S. bonds set to mature on Aug. 4 that would be given a "D" rating by Standard & Poor's if the debt ceiling is not lifted: $30 billion

Date when the International Monetary Fund issued a statement saying the U.S. should raise the debt ceiling "expeditiously to avoid a severe shock to the economy and world financial markets": 6/29/2011

Number of times the debt limit has been raised since 1940: about 100

Current U.S. debt limit: $14.3 trillion

Percent cut in government spending that would be required if the federal government chose simply to prioritize payments without a debt limit increase, according to the Treasury Department: 40

Amount that Republican leaders want to cut from federal spending alone, without any tax increases for the wealthy or profitable corporations: $4 trillion

Amount in spending cuts that has already been identified by both parties during the debt negotiations: more than $1 trillion

Amount in revenue that the Obama administration wants to raise over the next 10 years by ending tax breaks: $400 billion

Amount that the federal government could raise in that period by ending a business tax break related to an accounting technique for inventory costs, known as the "LIFO provision": $72 billion

Amount in LIFO reserves that companies on the S&P 500 Index held in 2010: $62 billion

Percent of those reserves accounted for by energy companies: more than 82

Amount the federal government could raise over the next decade by tightening oil and gas tax credits: $41 billion

By eliminating tax credits for hedge-fund managers: $21 billion

By eliminating the tax break for owners of corporate jets: $3 billion

Of the 47 Republican senators, number that have signed Americans for Tax Reform's pledge not to increase any taxes: 40

Amount that the House Republican budget plan would add to the national debt over the next decade: $5.4 billion

Percent of the Republican Congressional delegation that voted for that plan: 97

Constitutional amendment that confirms the validity of the U.S. public debt, leading some Democratic senators to argue that the debt limit is actually unconstitutional: 14th

(Click on figure to go to source. U.S. government chart via Wikipedia.)