
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, April 4, 1994                   TAG: 9404040018
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

UNCLE SAM DOLED OUT THE DOLLARS IN '93

Uncle Sam spent an average of $4,599 for every American last year, handing out money for grants and benefits, to buy goods and services and to pay government salaries.

That was up more than $200 per person from the year before.

Overall, the federal government spent $1.25 trillion last fiscal year, according to new Census Bureau reports on federal spending.

Entitlement programs and grants for Medicaid, family support payments and housing accounted for 60 percent of domestic spending, said U.S. Census analyst Robert McArthur.

Grants, benefits and subsidies were up 7.6 percent to $892.6 billion, while purchasing rose 1 percent to $201.4 billion.

Pay for federal workers rose 2.8 percent to $166.2 billion.

Alaska, where military salaries give the economy a big boost, remained the top recipient of federal dollars, receiving $7,697 per resident in 1993, according to the reports.

Nine of the top 10 states, and all of the bottom 10, were unchanged from 1992, which surprised McArthur.

He pointed to population migrations to the South and West, decreasing military spending and the increasing emphasis on social programs.

Nonetheless, "nothing just shook loose and moved from one region to another," he said.

Second in spending per resident was New Mexico at $6,929, up one spot from 1992 thanks to Department of Energy procurement in the state.

Virginia, home to major naval facilities as well as federal agencies in the Washington suburbs, climbed from fourth to third, receiving $6,824 per resident last year.

Maryland, No. 2 in 1992, dropped to fourth with federal spending of $6,803 per person in 1993.

Hawaii was next, at $6,017.

Rounding out the top 10 were North Dakota, Massachusetts, Missouri, Maine and Rhode Island. Missouri was a newcomer, up from 11th place, while Mississippi dropped out of the top 10.

The bottom 10, same as 1992, were: Illinois, Delaware, Vermont, Utah, Minnesota, North Carolina, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin and New Hampshire.

Not ranked was the District of Columbia, home of the federal government, where federal spending averaged $35,034 per person.

by CNB