Financial Repression Tracker

Rules that steer savings into government debt or hold returns below inflation, country by country.

U.S. indicators

Are savers being taxed by negative real rates while public debt is inflated away? U.S. indicators from FRED.

Real fed funds rate
0.0%
Sep 2026
Real 10-year yield
1.3%
Sep 2026
CPI inflation
3.7%
Sep 2026
Debt to GDP
122.6%
Jan 2026
Fed holdings share
11.4%
Apr 2026

Real interest rates

Nominal rate minus year-over-year CPI inflation. Below zero, savers lose purchasing power — the core of financial repression.

  • Real fed funds rate
  • Real 10-year yield
Negative real rates-10-8-6-4-20246200520102015202020251.30.0

CPI inflation

Year-over-year change in the consumer price index — the rate at which debt is inflated away.

-20246810200520102015202020253.7

Federal debt to GDP

Total public debt as a share of GDP. High debt is what makes repression attractive to governments.

40608010012014020052010201520202025122.6

Fed share of federal debt

Treasury securities held by the Federal Reserve as a share of total public debt — captive demand that holds yields down.

4681012141618202005201020152020202511.4
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, FRED. Data fetched Oct 19, 2026.