
(GDP is the combined value of goods and services produced in a country in a given period.) Adjusted for GDP, the rise in spending from 20 was more modest - 11%. To adjust for these factors, experts recommend comparing federal spending with the nation’s gross domestic product a growing economy can support higher federal spending.
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Towner said some of the growth has stemmed from a cohort of older Americans drawing more from Social Security and Medicare, plus the coronavirus relief bills, the bipartisan infrastructure law, a boost in veterans benefits, general increases to regular appropriations and bills to assist Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. The nation’s population has also grown during that period. More recent estimates by the Congressional Budget Office show an increase of about 43%.īudget experts urged caution when looking at spending growth alone.įirst, this growth in government spending didn’t happen in a vacuum.Ĭhris Towner, policy director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a fiscally hawkish group, said a spike in inflation since 2019 is partly to blame for the rise in spending. These figures were calculated before the Fiscal Responsibility Act passed June 3, so they’re outdated. Using figures from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, federal spending was estimated to jump by 55% between 20. Still, by the commonly used outlays measure, DeSantis’ claim is close. Another is to view outlays, which measures the money actually spent. One way is to look at budget authority - how much the government is authorized to spend in a given category. Third, there are different ways to measure spending.The act lifted the debt ceiling, the limit on how much debt the federal government can take on, and capped certain types of spending. Spending levels have been somewhat in flux because of the June passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.Spending levels for 2024 are estimates.Such a comparison is inherently complicated and imprecise for three reasons: DeSantis was comparing the level of spending in 2019 to the projected level in fiscal year 2024, the campaign said. Most of the growth in spending has flowed directly to Americans as entitlements and other direct payments.ĭeSantis’ campaign told PolitiFact his "Sunday Morning Futures" statement was based on federal spending. However, such spending doesn’t reflect growth in the number or size of "agencies" or overall government infrastructure. Looked at one way - by the projected growth in federal spending from 2019 to 2024 - DeSantis has a point. "Is there any American that’s somehow better off as a result of that?" "The agencies and government have grown 50% since 2019," DeSantis told Bartiromo July 9 on her "Sunday Morning Futures" show. Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis dropped a striking statistic during a recent interview with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo.
