Federal spending: the mandatory and the discretionary
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The federal government spent $6.2 trillion in fiscal year 2023, with $3.8 trillion of that being mandatory spending. That means spending that is essentially on autopilot, as it funds programs with rules set by law that don’t require renewal each year. So, what do Americans get for all this money? Here are the facts.
- Twenty-two percent of the total federal budget — $1.35 trillion — was for Social Security. The main groups that received these benefits are people of retirement age (who were awarded $1.15 trillion), people with disabilities ($150.9 billion), and survivors of deceased spouses or children ($50.9 billion).
- In December 2023, 67.1 million people received monthly Social Security benefits, including 50.1 million retired workers and 7.4 million disabled workers, plus these groups’ dependents. It also included 5.8 million survivors.
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- Government healthcare plans were also among the largest aspects of mandatory spending. Medicare accounted for $848 billion, while Medicaid accounted for $616 billion.
- Everything in the federal budget that isn’t mandatory spending is called discretionary spending, which amounted to $1.7 trillion last year. Unlike mandatory spending, these categories have more flexible budgets and are subject to congressional appropriations.
- The US spent $806 billion on defense, the biggest discretionary category, with $317 billion of that supporting acquiring and maintaining new weapons systems. About $173 billion covered military personnel pay and benefits. Another $142 billion covered modifying/procuring new aircraft, armored vehicles, satellites, and more.
- The largest non-defense aspect of discretionary spending is still military-related: $131 billion for veterans’ benefits. Second to that was funding for education, including special education, adult education, and financial aid at $125 billion. Another $115 billion went to transportation projects.
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The data on the border and unauthorized immigration
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Border encounter data helps the government estimate the number of people illegally entering the US. Most encounters occur along the southern border; here’s what the data has to say about them.
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- In 2017, US Customs and Border Protection reported around 527,000 border encounters. From January to June 2024, it reported 1.44 million.
- Over 80% of people apprehended or denied entry between October 2020 and June 2024 were Latin American citizens. Over a quarter came from Mexico, 8.9% from Guatemala, 8.5% from Honduras, 8.1% from Venezuela, and 6.2% from Cuba.
- From October 2020 to June 2024, 81.3% of encounters occurred along the US-Mexico land border; 45.8% of nationwide encounters were along the Texas border.
- Fluctuations in US migration have to do with push and pull factors. Push factors are violence, famine, and other adverse circumstances that drive people from their home countries. Pull factors make migrating enticing, including a strong economy, and weak points in immigration enforcement.
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Tune into Cheddar TV at 8:20 a.m. PT tomorrow to catch USAFacts President Poppy MacDonald discussing the data behind this election season’s top issues.
A 5.2-magnitude earthquake hit near Bakersfield, California, on August 6. In 2023, 36.6% of the 2.5+-magnitude earthquakes in the continental US were centered in California.
Last week, the price of cryptocurrency Bitcoin briefly dipped below $50,000 for the first time since February. Get more info on crypto, including who uses it and how it gets its value.
Take the weekly fact quiz and see how well you know data from last week’s newsletter. |
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One last fact: Election edition
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Twenty-six states have been won by less than a three-point margin at least once in the past eight presidential elections. Swing states Florida and Nevada have had tight margins in five of the last eight elections. |
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