Authors

Nicola Moore
Research Coordinator
Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies

Stephen Keen
Research Assistant
Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies

Rea S. Hederman Jr.
Assistant Director & Senior Policy Analyst
Center for Data Analysis

Alison Acosta Fraser
Director
Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies

Contact the Authors

Email:
E-mail the authors

Address:
The Heritage Foundation
214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002-4999  

Technical notes

The following charts are based mostly on data from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The charts using OMB data display the historical growth of the federal government from1965 to 2008 while the charts using CBO data display both historical and projected growth from as early as 1940 to 2082. The charts provide data on an annual basis (except where computations are made for Administration averages), with vertical lines denoting different congressional leadership. As a corollary, all spending and revenue data are based on a fiscal year. However, for the purpose of simplicity, they are treated as calendar years in the charts. Prior to 1976, the fiscal year was from July 1 to June 30. Following that year, the current format of October 1 to September 30 was implemented. In the charts, the transition is omitted for clarity. Also, in all charts in which spending or revenue is measured by taxpayer, taxpayers are counted as the number of individual income tax returns filed (according to data from the Internal Revenue Service) per year. Thus, married couples that both work but file a joint return are counted as a single combined-income unit. Most of the data are adjusted for inflation in 2007 dollars. Furthermore, specific information regarding data is indicated at the bottom of each chart.