American pet spending and the American national debt, both climbing. There is, presumably, a federal grant somewhere underwriting a pet-care research project. The dog is not, however, the cause of the debt, despite occasional accusations.
US pet industry spending grew from about 39 to over 130 billion dollars across this window as pet humanisation, premium food, and pet-tech expanded the category. The US national debt grew from about 8 to over 30 trillion dollars in the same window as deficit spending compounded through tax cuts, recession responses, and pandemic-era stimulus. Two unrelated curves on completely different scales, sharing a window because the same decade was generous to both private spending and federal borrowing. The country bought a lot of things on both ledgers.
Spending compounds across categories. The household and the treasury both kept buying.
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Want to learn more about why correlations like “US national debt” vs “US pet industry spending” don't prove causation? Read our guide to statistical thinking.
