Detailed historical data from 1940 through 2012 (estimated) are available on various budgetary items in: Historical Tables, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2009, Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President of the United States, Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2009.
Section 3, Table 3.1, "Outlays by Superfunction and Function," contains federal spending data on the following superfunctions expressed as a percentage of total outlays:
National Defense
Human Resources (Social Security, health, veterans' benefits, education, etc.)
Physical Resources (natural resources, energy, commerce, etc.)
Net Interest
Table 3.1 also contains total federal outlays expressed as a percentage of GDP.
Select data points at five-year intervals. Create two charts, one examining our choices in federal spending by superfunction and one examining our choice between federal spending and other output. In the context of U.S. history since the beginning of World War II, analyze the two charts and discuss the choices that have made as a nation on the level of federal spending and on how to allocate federal funds.
(If you are skilled with a spreadsheet program, you may find it easier to download the entire data set. You can easily create the charts on the spreadsheet. Print the charts, trim off the excess paper, and insert them in your study guide with tape.)
