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Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023

Did the US government spend $6 trillion last year compared with $4 trillion four years ago?

Tom Kertscher, Wisconsin Watch
yes

The federal government spent $6.27 trillion in fiscal 2022, which covered Oct. 1, 2021, through Sept. 30, 2022, according to the Treasury Department.

That's up 51% from $4.11 trillion four years earlier.

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., drew the contrast in a Sept. 26, 2023, interview.

Nonpartisan federal budget experts cited various factors to Wisconsin Watch.

Robert Bixby of the Concord Coalition said spending on Social Security and healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid increased by $635 billion. “This is largely because of population aging and rising per-capita healthcare costs. In other words, they grow on autopilot,” he said.

Spending increased by roughly the same amount on programs responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Marc Goldwein of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said inflation was another factor.

For the first 11 months of fiscal 2023, federal spending was 3% higher than fiscal 2022.

See a full discussion of this at Wisconsin Watch

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

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