Reducing Federal spending is never as easy as it sounds.
Total Federal Expenditures are ~$7.3T.
75% of expenditures are social benefits, state & local aid, and interest.
Add in defense spending, and it's ~90%.
Cutting all other spending to zero is only ~$700B. pic.twitter.com/FfwtwTSbjK
— Eric Basmajian (@EPBResearch) November 9, 2024
Reducing federal spending might sound simple, but the numbers reveal a different story. The U.S. federal budget stands at around $7.3 trillion, with mandatory spending—including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and interest on the national debt—making up a whopping 75% of the total. When defense spending is added, this figure climbs to nearly 90%, leaving little room for cuts.
Mandatory programs are not easy to slash without serious social and political consequences. These funds go to essential social benefits and debt interest, which can’t be easily adjusted. Even if discretionary spending—covering areas like education, transportation, and research—were cut entirely, savings would reach only about $700 billion, a fraction of the budget.
The numbers underscore the challenge: true budget reduction means tackling mandatory spending, a politically sensitive area, or finding other ways to address the growing federal debt.
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