big government
lborkowski | July 18, 2011As debt-ceiling negotiations continue and members of both parties express a desire for "leaner" government, James Kwak at The Atlantic offers an important reminder: Measuring the size of the US government by how much money it spends can be misleading. Social Security and Medicare, both of which are extremely popular, account for a huge chunk of federal expenditures; this Center for Budget and Policy Priorities big-picture breakdown shows that roughly 20% of FY 2010 federal expenditures went to Social Security, and another approximately 21% to Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health…