Basic Data on Federal Finances

Many people, including rationally ignorant voters, ignore the poor state of the US government’s finances. The Table below gives some numbers, extracted from the last budget of the US government. Politicians should be aware of the problem, but their self-interest is to kick the can down the future and compete for the perks of power by promising voters new programs, transfers, and tax cuts (see James Buchanan and Richard Wagner’s 1977 book Democracy in Deficit: The Political Legacy of Lord Keynes).