The break-down of budget expenditures in Virginia can be found on : http://hac.state.va.us  and the actual budget at http://legis.state.va.us/LIS/StateBudget.htm



I believe the figure of $4500 expenditure per person was based on the 2000 census figure of 7 million residents.  Virginia is one of the fastest growing states, and the population is now over 7.4 million. The figure you use for the budget is current, so the figure for the future year’s population should also be current. [7.5  mil by the end of 2006?]  This adjustment makes the expenditure less per person.  I think you’ve covered most of the big ticket items, although the state has also added a "rainy day fund" - some money goes into a "savings account".



To determine what these figures actually mean would require a lot of  research.  There are many good sites that can compare 1900 money with today's dollar. However, you must take into consideration what those dollars are actually buying.  I would not want my children getting the same education that my grandfather received in 1900 - or even the same education I received.  Few, if any, of my teachers had masters degrees. According to the money convertors, a  house that costs $500 in 1900 might cost $15,000 in 2005. But you can't get a house for $15,000 today. Well, maybe you could, if the house had no modern materials, no electricity, no indoor plumbing, no fridge, no decorative features, or any of the other things we are paying for today.  Adjustments for wage differences also have to be taken into account. Although medical care might have been as much a priority in 1900 as it is now, the world has changed. Aspirin wasn't available to Virginians in 1900. Even in 1940, antibiotics were
 experimental and not available to the general public. The cost and availability of medicine is greater - but is it more of a priority? In comparing any budget item to expenditures in years past, there are numerous differences in our culture that have to be taken into account.



I would guess that education, which is one of Virginia's largest expenditures today, was not as much of a priority or as big a slice of the pie in 1900.  Building the state's infrastructure was more important at that time.  Now we are only barely maintaining the roads, bridges, state buildings, etc.  In 1900, the state funded African American schools at a much lower cost than schools for the rest of the population.  It was not mandatory for any child to attend school, and many didn’t, making education a smaller slice of the pie then, and apparently less of a priority.



In the current budget, for the first time, the cost of Medicare programs are the biggest slice of the budget pie.  Education was a close second, with SOQ’s  the single greatest cause of the increase. The car tax revenue is now coming out of the general revenue - in other words, we are still paying that same bill, but  with our income and sales taxes, rather than a specific car tax.



The Joint Legislative Audit & Review Commission is mandated to review state spending and the causes of increases in the budget. You might want to read their State Spending Update:  http://jlarc.state.va.us/

Langdon






[log in to unmask] wrote:
Virginia's two-year state budget is $63 billion. (approximately $4500
per person per year). Does anyone know generally how that breaks down?

For example how much is for Medicaid?
How much to the localities to replace the car tax?
State Education allotment?
State police?
welfare?
VDOT?
Prisons & Courts?

What are the other big ticket items?

How does the breakdown compare with spending priorities from say 1990,
1970, 1940, or 1900? ...





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