Our budget problem in two charts (and one issue)
Even as someone who spends a lot of time writing about health policy, this new chart from the Bipartisan Policy Center is still one that gives me a bit of pause:
This chart shows the rise of health care as percent of GDP, compared to other programs that the government spends money on. As the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Loren Adler tweeted shortly after posting the report with this graph, “It’s the health care, stupid!”
One other interesting graph that Adler and co-author Shai Akabas include in their report looks at the role of Medicare and Medicaid in the federal budget. It’s not quite as dramatic, but does make the same point:
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Ezra Klein
Ezra Klein is the editor of Wonkblog and a columnist at the Washington Post, as well as a contributor to MSNBC and Bloomberg. His work focuses on domestic and economic policymaking, as well as the political system that’s constantly screwing it up. He really likes graphs, and is on Twitter, Google+ and Facebook. E-mail him here.
Suzy Khimm
Suzy Khimm covers the budget, economic policy, and financial regulatory reform. Before coming to Washington, she was based in Brazil and Southeast Asia, where she wrote for the Economist, Slate, and the Wall Street Journal Asia. Follow her on Twitter here, and email her here.
Sarah Kliff
Sarah Kliff covers health policy, focusing on Medicare, Medicaid and the health reform law. She tries to fit in some reproductive health and education policy coverage, too, alongside an occasional hockey reference. Her work has appeared in Newsweek, Politico, and the BBC. She is on Twitter and Facebook.
Brad Plumer
Brad Plumer is a reporter focusing on energy and environmental issues. He was previously an associate editor at The New Republic. Follow him on Twitter. Email him here.
