How the U.S. government spends money
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The discussion around how the U.S. government spends money is clouded by the jargon of budget nerds, like "discretionary" versus "mandatory" spending. But what would it look like if you converted spending data into plain language?
The big picture: That's what centrist think tank Third Way has done, taking the thousands of lines of federal spending data and categorizing them using plain language.
- It shows that most of what the government spends money on boils down to payments directly to Americans (Social Security, most prominently), directly paying medical bills or helping people buy health insurance.
By the numbers: In Third Way's analysis, 31 cents of each dollar the government spends consists of checks to Americans.
- Some 14 cents went to help people buy health insurance or manage their benefits and 12 cents toward medical bill payments.
- Another 13 cents went to interest on the national debt. Spending on wages for the military and federal law enforcement is a small sliver, a combined 3 cents.
- Meanwhile, everything else the government does adds up to 26 cents.
What they're saying: "Most people think there's tons of waste in the budget, but that's often because the spending feels like a black box," Zach Moller, director of Third Way's economic program, tells Axios.
- "Once you see that 60% of every dollar is spent on health care or direct payments, it flips a switch in how you think about what government does."
