Budgeting for the Next Generation: Does the Budget Process Prioritize Children?
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget looks at how the federal budget impacts the lives of children.
Compared to other age groups, children have higher levels of poverty, less ability to provide for themselves, and greater potential to support future growth. Despite children making up one-quarter of the population, less than one-tenth of the federal budget is spent on children. By comparison, we estimate that 60 percent of the budget is spent on adults, including 35 percent on the elderly (the 30 percent spent on neither children nor adults goes mostly to defense, interest, and infrastructure). One reason for this disparity is the budget process itself, which appears to significantly disadvantage children.
View the report here.