How much did the U.S. government spend in FY (fiscal year) 2023?
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:
How much money did the U.S. federal government bring in (total revenue) in Fiscal Year 2023?
How much money did the U.S. federal government spend in Fiscal Year 2023?
When you spend more than you have this is called a deficit.
What was the U.S. federal government deficit for FY 2023?
The national (federal) government spent $18,406 per person in FY 2023. What was the biggest overall area of spending for the U.S. government?
The amount of spending as shown in the visual above happened during a time of a divided government with a Democratic President, Democratic Senate, and Republican House of Representatives. Imagine if the House had been controlled by Democrats, the same party as the president. What do you think would have happened to the level of spending under a unified (same party in Congress and White House) government.
The budget planning begins a year before the budget is to go into effect. How does the following process illustrate the concept of checks and balances?
Federal agencies create budget requests and submit them to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
OMB refers to the agencies’ requests as it develops the budget proposal for the president.
The president submits the budget proposal to Congress early the next year.
Proposed funding is divided among 12 subcommittees, which hold hearings. Each is responsible for funding for different government functions such as defense spending or energy and water.
The House and Senate create their own budget resolutions, which must be negotiated and merged. Both houses must pass a single version of each funding bill.
Congress sends the approved funding bills to the president to sign or veto.
If we had a unitary system all government taxing and spending would happen only at the national level. But we have a federal system which means that we have taxing and spending at the national, state, and local level. How does this federal system guard against tyranny?
What are some examples of spending that is not included in the federal (national) budget but that are done at the state level?
A student named Jellybean said, “The Framers would be rolling in their graves if they knew how much the government was spending.” After I explained that ghosts don’t roll as much as they float, Jellybean calmed down a bit. In what way is the system that was created by the Constitution responsible for the spending shown above?
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
Tweet President Biden at @POTUS and let him know what you think about the budget for FY 2023.
Get Creative
If American government spending were a kind of boyfriend or girlfriend, what would it be?
Learning Extension
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