US national debtTrained Catholic exorcists in the US
Between 2005 and 2021, the number of American Catholic exorcists and the US national debt grew together (r = 0.957) with what can only be described as a philosophical suggestion that the Republic's problems require attention on at least two planes. The fiscal and the metaphysical have, it turns out, a similar slope. Both have outpaced revenue.
US-based Catholic exorcists grew from fewer than 20 in 2005 to over 100 by 2021, following Pope Benedict's 2010 encouragement and growing diocesan demand for appointments; the US national debt grew from about $8 trillion to over $28 trillion, accelerated by the 2008 TARP, the Trump-era tax cuts, and the pandemic relief packages. Both are stories of institutions responding to demand they had not planned for. The average exorcist receives about 400 requests per year, of which fewer than 5% result in a formal rite; the Treasury receives similar-scale pressure from Congress, with a similar clearance rate for new ceilings.
A rite is performed in a rectory. A bill is sent to the printer. Both institutions respond to demand, faithfully.
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