Federal Spending is Bad, but It's Not THAT Bad

I'm a big fan of educating people about how bad our spending problem is.

Which is why I'm sad when people exaggerate hideously to make the point.

Here's the Heritage Foundation:



The problem with this graph is that it's comparing apples to oranges.

It compares Total Federal Spending, which is for the entire country and is a cost that will be borne by all households, to Median Household Income, which is per household.

The comparison you really want to make, the only one that makes sense, is Total Household Income to Total Federal Spending:




Does the Heritage Foundation think their comparison is more meaningful? Or are they just trying to be sneaky? Or were they just rushing and didn't stop to think?