Federal Spending...

	Federal Spending per Household Is Skyrocketing The federal government is spending more on a per-household basis than ever before.
	Federal Spending Is Growing Faster Than Federal Revenue Since 1965, taxes and spending have been rising. Federal revenues have dropped recently due to the economic recession while spending has reached a record high.
	Recent Spending Hikes Are Not Limited to Temporary Emergencies The overall increase in base spending is a significant budgetary concern. Recent bailouts and the stimulus were expensive, but they are a modest fraction of the total budget. Even the global war on terrorism is just a small sliver of spending.
	Federal Spending Grew More Than Eight Times Faster Than Median Income When federal spending grows faster than people’s paychecks, the government’s burden on taxpayers becomes greater. Over the past few decades, middle-income Americans’ earnings have risen 29 percent, while spending has increased 242 percent.
	Federal Spending Is Outpacing Inflation Prices normally rise year to year, but federal spending has risen even faster, making it more costly than ever. Although spending grew substantially after 9/11, less than half of the increase is due to defense and homeland security spending.
	Mandatory Spending Has Increased Nearly Five Times Faster Than Discretionary Spending Only one-third of the federal budget, discretionary spending, is subject to required annual congressional debate. The remainder, mandatory spending, grows on autopilot and has increased nearly five times faster than discretionary spending. Most of the current increase is due to stimulus and entitlement spending.
	Entitlement Spending and Interest Payments Are Squeezing Out Other Programs One way to control spending is to cap it as a share of GDP. Because interest must be paid and if entitlement spending increases automatically, caps would squeeze other spending. Even if defense spending is reduced, entitlement reform is necessary for more budgetary flexibility.
	Total Government Spending Has More Than Doubled Since 1965 State and local government spending imposes a significant additional burden on taxpayers on top of federal spending.
	Defense Spending Has Declined While Entitlement Spending Has Increased Spending on national defense, a core constitutional function, has declined significantly over time, despite wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, spending on the three major entitlements—Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid—has more than tripled and is rapidly crowding out other programs.
	Obama’s Budget Would Reduce National Defense Spending Adequate funding is crucial for the military to fulfill its constitutional duty to provide for the common defense. Yet defense spending has fallen below its 45-year historical average despite ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
	Earmark Spending Continues Despite Change in Congressional Leadership Despite pledges from President Obama and congressional leaders to curtail earmark spending, the practice has continued at previous levels. The most recent spending bills included nearly 10,000 pork projects costing taxpayers nearly $16 billion.
Federal Revenue	Taxes per Household Have Risen Dramatically American households are sending more of their income to Washington, despite the economic downturn.
	The Top 10 Percent of Income Earners Paid 71 Percent of Federal Income Tax Top earners are the target for new tax increases, but the U.S. tax system is already highly progressive. The top 1 percent of income earners paid 40 percent of all federal income taxes in 2007, while the bottom 50 percent paid only 3 percent. More than one-third of U.S. earners paid no federal income tax at all.
	Federal Government Revenues Have More Than Tripled Since 1965