Government Spend Trend

Critical Analysis

Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, any links below, your big brain, and your knowledge of American government and politics:

  1. Based on the data from the chart above, in 2019 about what portion of total federal spending was discretionary*, and about what portion of total federal spending was mandatory*?

  2. Based on the data from the chart above, identify one trend in federal spending between 1962 and 2019.

  3. Every year the Congress and the POTUS set a federal budget. In which area of the chart above does all that spending belong: Net Interest, Mandatory, or Discretionary?

  4. Federal spending totaled $4.4 trillion in 2019. About 62 percent of the total was for mandatory programs not subject to regular budget review, while nearly 30 percent covered discretionary programs for which Congress must regularly appropriate funds. Eight percent went for interest on government debt. If you could create the ideal balance between discretionary, mandatory, and interest spending what would it be?

  5. Based on the wild and crazy trends in the chart above, what do you think the balance between US federal government mandatory, discretionary and interest spending will be in 20 years?

  6. How familiar are most Americans with the data from this chart and how does that impact the actual data in the chart?

  7. Before COVID-19 the budget deficit for 2020 was predicted to be over 1 trillion dollars. Now, with emergency spending, the budget deficit is predicted to exceed $3.8 trillion (or 3.8 thousand billion, or $3,800,000,000,000) Over time, how will that huge deficit impact the spending trends from this chart?

  8. As discretionary spending gets squeezed more and more every year what are some specific programs and items that must be cut from the budget?

  9. According to the graphs below*, what is the biggest single portion of mandatory spending, and what is the biggest single portion of discretionary spending?*

  10. Former Treasury official Peter Fisher once said, the federal government is basically “a gigantic insurance company,” albeit one with “a sideline business in national defense and homeland security.” The insurance spending he wrote about is in the mandatory spending section of the chart above. Based on the data from the chart, does Fisher's assessment seem correct?

Write and Discuss

Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.

Act on your Learning

Contact POTUS Biden or tweet him and share your opinion of US federal spending and what he should do about it!

Get Creative

Redraw the visual above extending the graph to 2040.

Learning Extension*

 
 

Read this swell new Pew Report putting federal spending in perspective.

*Hi, how are you. Did you know that the authority for discretionary spending stems from annual appropriation acts, which are under the control of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. Most defense, education, and transportation programs, for example, are funded that way, as are a variety of other federal programs and activities. Those appropriations are subject to a set of budget enforcement rules and processes that differ from those that apply to mandatory spending. As the Congress considers appropriation acts, CBO tallies the budget authority those acts would provide and estimates the outlays that would result.

While I’ve got you here, did you know that mandatory—or direct—spending includes spending for entitlement programs and certain other payments to people, businesses, and state and local governments. Mandatory spending is generally governed by statutory criteria; it is not normally set by annual appropriation acts. Outlays for the nation’s three largest entitlement programs (Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid) and for many smaller programs (unemployment compensation, retirement programs for federal employees, student loans, and deposit insurance, for example) are mandatory spending. Social Security and some other mandatory spending programs are in effect indefinitely, but some (for example, some agriculture programs) expire at the end of a given period. Roughly 60 percent of federal spending in 2012 (other than for the government’s net interest costs) was mandatory. Legislation that changed direct spending would, by itself, affect the budget deficit because no further legislative action would be required for the change in spending to occur.

High Five AP Government & Politics Exam Review Updated for 2025

Prepare for the 2025 AP® US Government Exam with High Five! Our Exam Review guide is completely redesigned and updated with over 140 pages of great AP Exam review material. Tons of completed graphic organizers are full of information to get you exam-ready in a flash.

This 2025 exam guide is an instant download and contains all the following resources.

  • Overview of the U.S. Government and Politics exam. 

  • Completed graphic organizers for all required documents + Supreme Court cases. 

  • Guide to the skills and content for all 5 course units. 

  • Essential vocabulary with link to online glossary.

  • Tons of Graphic Organizers with answers from each course unit.

  • GoPo Pro Tips.

  • Exam review Guides.

  • Amazing AI generated images of the Framers of the Constitution giving high fives!

  • Full Length AP multiple choice + Free Response Exam with Key.

AP ® is a trademark registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, this site or product.

GoPoPro does not offer credit or grades for our classes or products.

BUY NOW
Previous
Previous

What country do Americans fear the most?

Next
Next

What has happened to the average yearly number of anti-LGBTQ hate crimes on K-12 campuses?