A picture worth repeating

As I have noted previously I am not a fan of the proposals of the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities but they do some pretty interesting data. The example at the left (which is from CBO data) is a good example. But it needs some translation. #1 - In recent years we've spent more on Defense - in part because of the war in Iraq and in part because of the the Department of Homeland Security. #2 - Interest on the National Debt - by any calculation will begin to crowd out other areas of the budget as it grows in coming years. #3 - Ditto for Social Security and Medicare - don't believe that is funded from a trust fund or a lock box or anything similar. #4 - Notice that research dollars and spending on education amounts to about 5% of the budget. Most of that money should work like R&D expenditures in a company budget. Those levels are not likely to advance us much in those areas.