Politifact has determined it to be false, noting that this chart shows only discretionary spending:

Answers without enough detail may be edited or deleted. Want to improve this post? Provide detailed answers to this question, including citations and an explanation of why your answer is correct. This subtraction is necessary in order to construct an accurate pie chart, since that $602 billion would otherwise be counted twice. The 'State and Local Spending Minus Federal Grants' portion of the pie chart shows all spending from state and local governments minus the $602 billion of that which was funded by grants from the federal government. Governmental Spending, FY 2014, Own Workĭata Sources: OMB for federal data (XLS) and U.S. However, the following chart shows how federal spending categories looked as a percentage of overall governmental spending in the U.S. Unfortunately, the Census data does not break this down by category, so constructing a pie chart showing a breakdown for both federal and state and local spending by category isn't possible from this data. Governmental Spending, Fiscal Year 2014ĭuring FY 2014, state and local governments received $602 billion from the federal government in various grants, according to the Census link cited above. State and Local Government Spending, FY 2014, Own Workĭata Source: U.S. While Fiscal Year 2015 data is not yet available, here is a breakdown of the major spending categories for state and local government spending from the Fiscal Year 2014 data listed by the Census Bureau (XLS):

Conversely, the share of military spending will only be about 60% of its share of federal expenditures, since nearly all military spending is from the federal government. government spending is included (state + federal + local,) education and transportation will be much larger shares of spending than when only federal spending is considered. Official data from the government for these figures is not yet available, but they're in line with what would be expected based on prior year data, which is available from the U.S. for that fiscal year is estimated to be about $6.4 trillion, according to. However, total federal + state + local government spending in the U.S. The chart above shows the $3.7 trillion dollars of federal expenditures in fiscal year 2015. The same is true for road construction and maintenance. Education, for example, is typically funded primarily by state and local governments. Nearly all military spending is federal, however, state and local governments account for a large percentage of government spending in the U.S. The chart above and the chart in the question show only federal spending. government spending.' When discussing government spending in the U.S., it's important to remember that federal spending is itself only a piece of the pie. The image in the question was also reviewed by Politifact and, due to its presentation of discretionary spending as if it were the total of federal spending, was rated false.Īdditionally, the question asks about 'U.S. Source: National Priorities Project, which sources from OMB (the White House Office of Management and Budget.) Here is what federal expenditures actually look like:įederal Expenditures for FY2015. As DavePhD accurately pointed out in his answer, the chart only shows what is termed 'discretionary spending' in the federal budget, which doesn't even include food stamps (or almost any of the other social entitlement programs spending.) government expenditures in the pie chart in question is not even remotely accurate. That aside, no, the representation of U.S. So the SNAP program was 2.1% of total spending.įirst off, Republicans don't actually blame the government deficit on SNAP (food stamps.) The total budget actual spending for 2014 was $3.506 trillion SNAP benefits cost $74.1 billion in fiscal year 2014 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the current name for the food stamp program. Other mandatory spending programs include Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), unemployment insurance, some veterans’ benefits, federal employee retirement and disability, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). See Mandatory Spending Since 1962 which is a US Senate document: This article specifically contains and explains the exact pie chart in the OP.Ĭontrary to the text below the pie chart, the food stamp program is not part of discretionary spending, it is part of mandatory spending, so it is not on the pie chart at all. The graphic is the FY2014 requested discretionary spending, which is only a small part of the total budget as explained in the article President Obama Proposes 2014 Budget.

Federal spending pie chart