Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day for May 31, 2017
The Number of the Day columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
May 31, 2017: The meaning of words in official Washington is often different than the meaning of the same words in the rest of the nation. Despite recent news stories of massive spending cuts in the first Trump Administration budget, there is not a single year in which projected federal spending declines.[1][2]
| Year | Spending (Billions of Dollars) | Increase in Spending from Prior Year (Billions of Dollars) |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 4,062 | 210 |
| 2018 | 4,094 | 32 |
| 2019 | 4,340 | 246 |
| 2020 | 4,470 | 130 |
| 2021 | 4,617 | 147 |
| 2022 | 4,832 | 215 |
| SOURCE: The Office of Management and Budget, Historical Tables | ||
The discrepancy between the political rhetoric and the numbers results from the fact that official Washington defines it a spending “cut” any time federal spending grows less than expected. This significantly distorts public understanding of federal budgets since most Americans believe that a spending cut occurs only when less money is spent than the year before.
Not only is federal spending continuing to go up every year, it is projected to increase faster than inflation every year but one. The table below shows federal spending in “2009 dollars.” In other words, it presents the data as if their had been no inflation since 2009.
| Projected Federal Spending Adjusted for Inflation | ||
| Year | Spending (Billions of 2009 Dollars) | Increase in Spending from Prior Year (Billions of 2009 Dollars) |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 3,588 | 107 |
| 2018 | 3,539 | -49 |
| 2019 | 3,669 | 130 |
| 2020 | 3,696 | 27 |
| 2021 | 3,733 | 37 |
| 2022 | 3,821 | 88 |
| SOURCE: The Office of Management and Budget, Historical Tables | ||
In 1980, Ronald Reagan was elected president because most Americans concluded that the federal government had become too big and intrusive. In that year, the federal government spent 21.1 percent of the nation’s total income. Many stories have been written over the years about how Reagan slashed federal spending. In the 1990s, President Bill Clinton declared that “the era of big government is over.” But, despite all the rhetoric of spending cuts, the federal government this year is expected to spend virtually an identical share of the nation’s total income (21.2 percent).
And, as noted in earlier Numbers of the Day, the regulatory impact of the federal government has increased dramatically in recent decades. Both the number of regulators and the regulatory budgets have grown to give the federal government a much higher level of control over the American people.
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- To see other recent numbers, check out the archive.
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