Center for Social Research

How big is government? Visualizing U.S. government expenses

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Given the pending $940 billion health care reform bill in the U.S. Congress, along with the $787 billion economic stimulus bill enacted in 2009, there is a lot of public controversy about the scope of public spending in the U.S. Just how unusual is the Obama administration's spending, and why? As shown in the static image above, it is clear that the Obama administration's 2009 spending dwarfs prior years and reaches for a 48-year maximum near 35% of non-government GDP before offsets. But this fact is not alone--it also represents the summation of trends long in the making. Whatever you think, the interactive visualization below may help to put the spending surge in its proper context. For example, before 2009 the record holder appears to have been the Reagan Administration in 1983, with nearly 30% of non-governmental GDP before offsets. Recessions take a toll on the economy that drives up the government's share.

At CSR, we are learning to use a powerful new tool called Tableau, a data visualization and analysis application that is evolving from origins in business intelligence. With the recent release of version 5.1, Tableau now includes Tableau Public, a free service that allows anyone to create and post interactive visualizations like the one below. Tableau is sponsoring a contest through March 26, and our interactive entry is below--please read on.

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