Government: What percentage is it of the economy?

[NewUser]

Hi all, I've been thinking about this for a while, but I haven't been able to find an answer.

I'd love to see a pie chart or graph of how much the government makes up in the entire American economy. I'd love to see other countries as well.

Any help would be really appreciated!

 

[cubical]

In terms of what?

 

[erowe1]

Here's a list of government spending as a percent of GDP in various countries.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_spending

As you can see, despite having a very high GDP per capita relative to most other countries, the US still spends a very high amount on government as a percent of GDP.

 

[FindLiberty]

IMO,

Gov is 99.9% poison to Liberty and the destroyer of monetary value (due to constant inflation via frn's that are mostly spent on evil things).

It's also >55% of evathin' you see, good or bad. It is the failing economy and growing police state. Not fixable.

It's alive. It broke lose from the chains of the U.S. Constitution many years ago.

 

[thoughtomator]

Way too much - at least two orders of magnitude larger than any reasonably acceptable size. They're probably accounting for 20% of GDP in straight spending, with another 10% being the Fed's printing shenanigans.

The private (real) economy has shrunk by over 10% since the economic crisis. This is a full-blown Depression already and it has been for years. One major reason why it stays in this depressed state is that it's hard to do any serious business when the rules constantly change arbitrarily and by fiat - often to the advantage of your larger competitors.

 

[Pauls' Revere]

Here's a list of government spending as a percent of GDP in various countries.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_spending

As you can see, despite having a very high GDP per capita relative to most other countries, the US still spends a very high amount on government as a percent of GDP.

from link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Federal_spendings.gif

The biggest expenditures in no particuar order include:

Social Security
DoD
Health & Human Services
Treasury (as interest to service debt)

 

[Zippyjuan]

GDP runs $15.6 trillion. Government spending is $3.5 trillion which means the government is 22% of the economy in dollar terms. Not all government spending is in the US though- some ends up overseas so maybe closer to 20% of GDP.

 

[oyarde]

GDP runs $15.6 trillion. Government spending is $3.5 trillion which means the government is 22% of the economy in dollar terms. Not all government spending is in the US though- some ends up overseas so maybe closer to 20% of GDP.

An unacceptable rate. One third of the people are paying it and most is waste or of no interest to the earner who is paying it.

 

[erowe1]

GDP runs $15.6 trillion. Government spending is $3.5 trillion which means the government is 22% of the economy in dollar terms. Not all government spending is in the US though- some ends up overseas so maybe closer to 20% of GDP.

You must just be counting the federal government.

It's more like 40%.

 

[Zippyjuan]

Yes- that was just federal spending.

 

[Anti Federalist]

GDP runs $15.6 trillion. Government spending is $3.5 trillion which means the government is 22% of the economy in dollar terms. Not all government spending is in the US though- some ends up overseas so maybe closer to 20% of GDP.

Can the billions in debt service be included in GDP figures?

 

[Zippyjuan]

Should interest collected by banks be included in GDP? Should the fees they earn?

(according to this site http://www.pitt.edu/~mgahagan/Bern6.htm it doesn't count)

Impact of federal government spending on GDP.

a. Salaries to government workers are part of GDP; they represent direct government purchase of services.

b. Payments to Social Security recipients are transfer payments, and transfer payments are not part of "Government consumption or investment" in the NIPA accounts. They will be counted as part of the government budget , but they will be spent by individuals and will then become part of "Personal consumption expenditure".

c. Purchase of aircraft parts is counted as government consumption in the NIPA accounts.

d. Interest paid on government bonds is NOT counted as part of GDP; the argument is that the interest is not usually for a loan purchasing capital equipment, and therefore is not connected to production; whereas net business interest typically is for a loan used to purchase capital equipment and is counted as part of GDP since it is related to production.

e. Payment of $1 billion to Saudi Arabia for crude oil to add to reserves counts as government consumption and would add to GDP, but will also be subtracted off as imports -- the net effect is that GDP is unchanged.

 

[enoch150]

GDP, as of the 3rd quarter 2013, is $16,912.9 Trillion.
Government spending at all levels in the US is $5,827.4 Trillion annually, as of the 3rd quarter 2013.
The portion of GDP which comes from total government spending is $3,137.5 Trillion.

So I guess you could say "private sector" GDP is $13.775.4 Trillion, but that wouldn't really be accurate, since a number of government functions would be picked up by the private sector if the government ceased to exist.

http://www.bea.gov/iTable/iTable.cf...i=1&910=x&911=0&903=5&904=1948&905=2013&906=q

 

[Dr. Dog]

The OECD has this data available.

http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?QueryId=51647

In 2013 the US spends 38.7% of GDP on government, which is actually lower than most other OECD countries. Only South Korea, Australia, and Switzerland spend less among non-shithole countries.

 

[erowe1]

The OECD has this data available.

http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?QueryId=51647

In 2013 the US spends 38.7% of GDP on government, which is actually lower than most other OECD countries. Only South Korea, Australia, and Switzerland spend less among non-shithole countries.

Why exclude all the other countries from that comparison?

To me it says something that the land of Thomas Jefferson, Sam Adams, Thomas Paine, et al, is now ruled by a government that sucks away a greater percentage of its peoples' wealth than does that one that rules China.

And even though the US's number is lower than most others on your list. It's within a couple percent of a lot of them, which is within the margin that the percent fluctuates from year to year.

Also, since the average GDP per capita in the US is higher than almost any of the countries on that OEDC list, including Australia, Switzerland, and South Korea (Norway and Luxembourg being the only exceptions), it should be able to provide the same level of government per capita by spending a lower percent of of its GDP on it.

And let's be honest, Singapore, Qatar, and Hong Kong, which all spend a fraction of the amount of their GDPs on their governments of what the US does, are not s***holes.

 

[Dr. Dog]

Singapore and Hong Kong aren't members of the OECD, and yes I do agree that they are the ideal.

Qatar most definitely is a shithole, unless you're some sheikh or whatever the hell you call those weirdos.

 

[Carson]

I've been wondering just what percentage of the Gross Domestic Product is, or should-a-could-a-be, attributed to the central bank.

Then again they are pretty much an off shore operation that, as far as I know, have never payed any capital gains taxes on their product.

 

[erowe1]

Qatar most definitely is a shithole, unless you're some sheikh or whatever the hell you call those weirdos.

Really?