BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--USAFacts, a not-for-profit, nonpartisan civic initiative providing the most comprehensive and understandable single source of government data, today announced its US Government 10-K report is live and accessible to all. The report provides an in-depth look at government finances, key metrics and risk factors for future operations and reaching Constitutional objectives.
Said USAFacts founder and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, "After an unsteady year, we at USAFacts hope that Americans can stand together on the same factual footing and move into the future with the data they need to make important decisions in their lives — and for the nation."
This is the fifth annual USAFacts Government 10-K, the only central source to study the spending and outcomes of government programs. Modeled on the form for assessing performance, financial condition, and risk factors that publicly traded US companies must annually submit to the Securities and Exchange Commission, this document helps Americans judge the state of the nation.
“The USAFacts US Government 10-K was created with the belief that Americans are the nation’s stakeholders and should benefit from the same level of rigor afforded shareholders of publicly traded companies,” said USAFacts Chief Product Officer Richard Coffin.
This 10-K combines data from more than 90,000 government entities. The state and local financial data primarily focuses on 2008 to 2018 so Americans can analyze the effects of the Great Recession — just as the nation is starting to sort out the effects of the pandemic-driven recession. An open letter to the shareholders of our nation authored by Mr. Ballmer prefaces the report. The letter underscores the need for clear, accessible facts so Americans can assess governmental impact on society and highlights key facts detailed in the report.
Select Facts
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Corporate income tax collections fell 31% from 2017 to 2018, but federal tax revenue held
Federal revenue from corporate income taxes — which made up 9% of all 2017 federal revenue — decreased 31% from 2017 to 2018. In total, federal tax revenues rose 1% between 2017 to 2018, below that year’s 2.4% inflation rate.
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The number of Americans receiving government food assistance grew by 12% in 2020
The average number of monthly recipients rose by 4.2 million to 39.9 million in 2020. The average monthly benefit per person rose 18% from $130 in 2019 to $153 in 2020 as the USDA announced new emergency benefits.
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People are waiting longer for subsidized housing units
The number of government-subsidized housing units grew by 0.8% in 2020 to reach almost 5.1 million units, but Americans spend an average of 27 months on the waitlist, up an additional nine months from the decade prior.
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More Americans are living alone and unmarried
Between 1980 and 2020, the average US household shrank by 8% to 2.5 people and the share of married family households dropped from 61% to 49%. While more people live alone, more people between 25 and 34 are living at home with parents, doubling from 9% in 1980 to 18% in 2020.
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The child poverty rate is falling, but that’s not the whole story
The child poverty rate declined 3 percentage points between 2008 and 2018. Yet, one in six of the nation’s 73 million children lived in poverty by the end of 2018. Homeless children enrolled in school increased from 774,000 to 1.5 million — a 94% increase.
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The senior population is growing faster than the general population
Between 2008 and 2018, the population of Americans over 65 grew by 35%, while overall population growth was 7.5%. The government is spending more (adjusted for inflation) on Social Security (42% increase in retirement payments) and Medicare (33% increase) as the population ages.
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The US is increasingly a nation of immigrants
In 2019, 14% of the US population was foreign-born, up from 11% in 2000. In 2018, the number of naturalized citizens surpassed that of immigrants without citizenship for the first time, rising to 22.6 million people or 51% of the foreign-born population — up from 40% in 2000.
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Small roads and key train infrastructure are in poor condition
Collector roads, which move traffic from local streets to arterial roads, make up 14% of traffic, and 48% were rated unsatisfactory in 2018. Train infrastructure hasn’t been comprehensively measured since 2014, when two-thirds of train tunnels and nearly one-third of train control systems and elevated structures were poor or substandard.
Access the USAFacts US Government 10-K now.
About USAFacts
USAFacts is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan civic initiative making government data easy for all Americans to access and understand. USAFacts provides engaging visuals on data and trends in US spending, revenue, demographics, and policy outcomes to help Americans ground public debate in facts. It produces topical content throughout the year and has produced annual reports and 10-Ks on the nation. Follow them on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @USAFacts, and sign up for the data-driven newsletter at www.usafacts.org.
