Federal Entitlement Spending Multiplies

New research by Mercatus Center Senior Research Fellow, Veronique de Rugy, illustrates the rapid growth of federal spending on entitlement programs into the future. 

Shown above is the spending on major entitlement programs as percentages of the United States’ GDP in a given year, as projected by the Congressional Budget Office.  As a percent of GDP, Medicaid spending is projected to increase by 194%, Social Security spending is projected to increase by 142%, and Medicare spending is projected to increase by 318% within the next 40 years. 

These cost considerations are certain to become more important as increasing shares of our nation’s income is committed to entitlement spending.