Conservatives and liberals often look at the federal budget deficit and see two different things: a spending problem or a revenue problem. The chart above makes multiple points affirming that federal spending is driving the deficit, not lackluster revenues.

Compared to historical averages from 1965 to 2014, spending is rising much faster than revenues. Spending is projected to rise almost 6 percentage points higher than its historical average, whereas revenue is projected to rise only 2 percentage points above average revenue.