A department-by-department guide to cutting the federal government's budget.
The Department of Energy oversees nuclear weapons sites, runs electric utilities, and subsidizes conventional and alternative fuels.
The department will spend $38 billion in 2010, or about $320 for every U.S. household. It employs 16,000 workers directly and oversees about 100,000 contract workers.
The Department of Agriculture administers large farm subsidy programs and runs the food stamp and school lunch programs.
The department will spend about $142 billion in 2010, or about $1,200 for every U.S. household. It employs 96,000 workers and operates more than 230 subsidy programs.
The Department of Transportation subsidizes and regulates highways, airports, air traffic control, urban transit, and passenger rail.
The department will spend $91 billion in 2010, or about $770 for every U.S. household. It employs 58,000 workers and operates 85 different subsidy programs.
Huge Deficits, Massive Debt
According to the administration’s latest budget figures, the federal government is projected to run huge annual deficits throughout the coming decade. The actual figures could end up being considerably larger, particularly if policymakers continue to justify additional budget-busting for alleged “emergencies.” As a previous blog shows, these deficits would be driven by excessive spending. Read more
Spending is the Deficit Problem
The figure shows projected federal spending and revenues in coming years, according to the administration’s new budget figures. The deficit is the gap between the lines: Read more
Spending to Cross New Thresholds
Federal spending reached $1 trillion in fiscal year 1987. Then it took fifteen years for spending to reach $2 trillion in 2002. Then it only took six years to reach $3 trillion in 2008. President Obama’s new midsession budget projections show that it will reach $4 trillion in 2014 and take only four more years to top $5 trillion in 2018. Meanwhile, the Washington establishment is getting all worked up about the deficit effects of extending recent tax cuts, which amount to just a few hundred billion dollars a year. Read more
