Before moving on to the five categories of federal spending. I want to first put federal spending into context graphically. The first chart shows the growth in nominal federal spending. Between FFY 1981 and 2008, federal spending in the states has grown 385 percent to $2.7 trillion from $567 million.
Of course, the economy has grown a great deal since then. As shown in the second chart, federal spending as a percent of personal income (adjusted into calendar years) shows no overall growth of federal spending in the states. However, there is a wide range of percentages across the states. The state with the highest level of federal spending relative to personal income is New Mexico at a whopping 37.8 percent . . . perhaps this has something to do with that Los Alamos place. On the flip side, New Jersey has the lowest level at 15.4 percent.
In terms of federalism, I wonder if there is a correlation between the size of federal spending within a state and the citizen’s perspective on the federal government. For instance, do folks in New Mexico view Uncle Sam more favorably than the folks in New Jersey. Does it influence electoral outcomes?
