Including the stimulus, tax cuts, bailouts, home and car subsidies and automatic stabilizers (i.e. unemployment insurance and food stamps) the Great Recession will add about $4.2 trillion to the federal debt by the time it ends. The largest contributor; automatic stabilizers. They kick in when the economy slows. These stabilizers will add about $1.9 trillion to the debt by the time the economy is back to normal in 2016.