December 22, 2011 
Every day for the rest of the year, we’ll be looking at one important chart that helps to explain current economic problems.
The first, from the Bipartisan Policy Center, shows the projected components of federal spending over the coming decades.
Source: Bipartisan Policy Center
What does this chart mean?
Government spending drives the debt, and the growth of government health care programs drives the spending. Relentlessly rising health care costs (coupled with demographic changes) are driving the growth of these programs, while the open-ended structure of these programs is responsible for much of the increase in health care costs. — Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)
Great chart. This is why we need a national-level health insurance system, like every other developed country. No other country spends anywhere near as much money as we do.