'Exploding' Domestic Spending Is a Myth

"Some people mistakenly believe that funding for domestic discretionary programs has exploded since 2001," says a February 2008 report by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. The reality is that funding for domestic discretionary programs outside homeland security is lower as a share of the economy in 2008 than it was in 2001. And, between 2002 and 2008, the overall funding level for domestic discretionary programs outside homeland security declined 2.6 percent in real per capita terms. In other words, spending on dozens of important and widely supported programs has not kept pace with inflation the past few years.

The real threat to our fiscal health is continued government disinvestment in vital education, health, safety net and infrastructure programs, as well as the continuation of the disastrous war in Iraq.