This is why looking at government spending over time is an incomplete picture. If a huge chunk goes to retirees and wasn’t 40 years ago, there’s simply less leftover for everything else.
Tax revenue might be higher than ever but net available for programs is down. Thus, the feeling by many that government must be wasting money.
> If a huge chunk goes to retirees and wasn’t 40 years ago, there’s simply less leftover for everything else.
If you are talking about state governments in the US, that's approximately true.
If you are talking about the federal government, it's not, because the idea of a fixed purse is simply false. Spending and revenue are separate policy decisions that don't constraint each other.
Tax revenue might be higher than ever but net available for programs is down. Thus, the feeling by many that government must be wasting money.