Fiscal Year / Percentage increase to outlays over prior year
1999 / 3.0%
2000 / 5.1
2001 / 4.1
2002 / 7.9
2003 / 7.4
2004 / 6.2
2005 / 7.8
2006 / 7.4
2007 / 2.8
2008 / 9.3
2009 / 17.9
2010 / (1.8)
2011 / 4.3
2012 / 5.3
Average annual increase over the last 14 fiscal years: 6.2%.
At that rate, the rule of 72 says outlays will double in fewer than 12 years. Outlays for 2012 are estimated to finish at $3.8 trillion. Half of that is $1.9 trillion. Actual outlays in 2001, eleven years prior, were $1.9 trillion.
So in 2023, eleven years from 2012, expect outlays to reach $7.6 trillion.
