A comparison of the constant U.S. federal prison population and constant federal debt (in constant 2013 dollars) from the 1940s to 1980, and the dramatic increase in both from 1980 to 2012. There is no causality connecting them other than that they are both caused by the policies of the federal government during those two periods. The debt is projected to increase for another decade, but the prison population decreased in 2013 for the first time since 1979.