"I cut this chart off at 2008 so that the long-term trends are easier to see. There's been a spike in these numbers over the past three years because the recession has temporarily depressed GDP and temporarily increased spending — just as there were spikes during the recessions of 1979, 1989, and 2001 — but that spike will go away when the economy improves. There's no special reason that it should affect our view of our long-term finances."
Discretionary spending, defense spending, or interest expenses are flat. Social Security will go up for a while because of the baby boomers but that's manageable with some small tweaks. Medicare is the real issue, and the only one.
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