PrintAugust 30, 2010
Graph of the Day for August 30, 2010
"In the past several decades, the country paid for increases in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid spending through cuts in defense spending relative to the size of the economy. That approach is not feasible in the future." CBO, March 8, 2010.
"If you really want to see when an empire is getting vulnerable, the big giveaway is when the costs of serving the debt exceed the cost of the defense budget." Niall Ferguson.
Hoven's Index for August 30, 2010
Projected federal spending in 2020:
Total: $5.46 trillion
Medicare & Medicaid: $1.337 trillion (24.5% of total)
Social Security: $1.17 trillion (21.4%)
Net Interest: $937 billion (17.2%)
Defense: $813 billion (14.9%)
All other: $1.20 trillion (22.0%))
Source: CBO, May 13, 2010.
Graph of the Day Archive.
