Entitlement Spending Explodes

This chart by Veronique de Rugy illustrates the Congressional Budget Office’s long-term baseline projections of federal spending. Colored segments represent the relative contributions of Medicare and Medicaid, Social Security, and other spending to the overall composition of long-term federal outlays. Importantly, Congressional Budget Office baseline projections, which are based on existing law, have been used for this illustration. According to CBO’s baseline, over the next 50 years, entitlement spending is projected to grow at 1.4% annually, twice the historical rate of increase in government spending.  Moreover, under the CBO’s alternative scenario, which includes likely policy changes, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and net interest spending combined are projected to exceed total federal revenue by 2028.  

This chart was also recently featured in The American.