AP US Government & Politics

By 2040, what portion of U.S. Federal budget spending will be discretionary? 

1. How accurate was your prediction?

2. What is the difference between mandatory and discretionary spending?

3. List two examples of mandatory spending:

4. List two examples of discretionary spending:

5. What story do these charts tell?

6. What is one reason for the changing nature of U.S. federal spending?

7. What are two consequences of the changing nature of U.S. federal spending?

8. As discretionary spending gets squeezed, what are some specific discretionary U.S. government programs that you think might get cut?

9. Describe the general trend in overall (discretionary + mandatory)U.S. government spending?

10. What specific parts of the government play a major role in creating the budget?

11. Describe the U.S. Government’s budgetary process.

12. Let's say that you felt the government was spending too much money on mandatory spending. Is there anything the federal government could do about this?

13. Overall, is this good news or bad?

14. Why doesn't the U.S. save money and just stop paying the interest on the debt?

15. What questions do you have about all this?

16. In the comments section below, list one program or expenditure that you wouldn't mind seeing cut from the US federal budget.

Visual Extension

Learning Extension

Learn more about the changes in discretionary spending at the Peter G. Peterson Foundation.

Action Extension

Plug in your family information to the tax receipt calculator to see where the federal government spent your family's taxes.

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