PPB June 2020

Gove rnmen t These States Employ The Most Government Workers • Alaska: 24.6% • Wyoming: 24.1% • New Mexico: 22.2% • West Virginia: 21% • Mississippi: 20.9% • Oklahoma: 20.6% • Hawaii: 19.1% • North Dakota: 19% • Montana: 18.9% • Alabama: 18.9% Source: USA Today Federal Government Spending In 2021, the government expects to spend $4.8 TRILLION , with almost 60% going toward mandated benefits such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Interest on the U.S. debt is estimated to be $378 BILLION . Interest on the approximate $23 TRILLION debt is the fastest-growing federal expense, expected to double by 2028. Sources: The White House, “A Budget for America’s Future FY 2021” and Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget What Are The Most Federally- Dependent States? WALLETHUB examined state residents’ dependency and state governments’ dependency on the federal government. These states depend the most on the federal government. • New Mexico • Mississippi • West Virginia • Montana • Kentucky • Alaska • Arizona • Indiana • Alabama • South Carolina Source: WalletHub According to USA Today, the number of Americans working for federal, state or local governments fell from 22.5 million to 22.4 million over the past decade. These states had the largest government employee workforces in 2018. 62 | JUNE 2020 | GROW