Political Science

—Total outlays, defense, net interest, means-tested social spending, non-means-tested social spending, and other—adjusted for inflation and population (spending for each divided by total US population, not spending per recipient), 1962 to estimated 2004.  This follows the suggestion of candidate George W. Bush, who said during the 2000 election campaign that state, and presumably national, government spending over time should be adjusted both for inflation and population growth.  The current-dollar data are from the Congressional Budget Office (the report is available at the CBO web site) and begins with the 1962 budget year; change is from final year of previous term to final year of current term.

• National Government Inflation-adjusted Spending (Outlays) per Person for Defense, Net Interest, Means-tested Social, Non-means-tested Social, “Other” (residual category), and Total National Government Spending 1962 to estimated 2004, in Constant (2002) dollars
• National Government Inflation-adjusted Total Spending (Outlays) per Person, Each Year 1962 to estimated 2004, in Constant (2002) dollars
• Inflation-adjusted Change in Total National Government Outlays per Person by Presidential Term, Johnson to George W. Bush, in percent
• Inflation-adjusted Defense Spending (Outlays) per Person, Each Year 1962 to estimated 2004, in Constant (2002) dollars
• Inflation-adjusted Change in Defense Outlays per Person by Presidential Term, Johnson to George W. Bush, in percent
• Inflation-adjusted Net Interest Spending (Outlays) per Person, Each Year 1962 to estimated 2004, in Constant (2002) dollars
• Inflation-adjusted Change in Net Interest Outlays per Person by Presidential Term, Johnson to George W. Bush, in percent
• Inflation-adjusted Means-tested Social Spending (Outlays) per Person, Each Year 1962 to estimated 2004, in Constant (2002) dollars (the largest means-tested social program is Medicaid)
• Inflation-adjusted Change in Means-tested Social Outlays per Person by Presidential Term, Johnson to George W. Bush, in percent
• Inflation-adjusted Non-means-tested Social Spending (Outlays) per Person, Each Year 1962 to estimated 2004, in Constant (2002) dollars (the largest non-means-tested social programs are Social Security and Medicare)
• Inflation-adjusted Change in Non-means-tested Social Outlays per Person by Presidential Term, Johnson to George W. Bush, in percent
• Inflation-adjusted “Other” Spending (Outlays) per Person, Each Year 1962 to estimated 2004, in Constant (2002) dollars (this is a residual category, and includes all national government spending not included in defense, net interest, means-tested social, and non-means-tested social categories; most of the items in this category are in the discretionary spending category)
• Inflation-adjusted Change in “Other” Outlays per Person by Presidential Term, Johnson to George W. Bush, in percent
• Inflation-adjusted National Government Outlays for Defense, Net Interest, Means-tested Social Spending, Non-means-tested Social Spending, and “Other,” in Billions of 2002 Dollars (Total Spending, Not Per Capita)
• Summary pdf file with all charts in this Per Capita Government Spending section