I like this.<p>First response: I'd prefer the <i>total</i> spending was more clearly highlighted (larger font and/or to the side).<p>Inflation-adjusted or percent of total GDP would also be useful.<p>The detail pop-ups are pretty sweet. A little hard to navigate (somewhat a property of space available). Maybe give them more of the window -- if someone's looking at the detail <i>show them the detail</i> and allocate display space to it.
Did some math for fun:<p>DoD 2000-2014 = $282 billion to $587 billion = 2.08x increase over 14 years.<p>Total 2000-2004 = $1.79 trillion to $3.65 trillion = 2.03x increase.<p>So since 9/11 DoD seems to be expanding at the rate of total government expansion, which is pretty rapid. Compared to the 14 years before that from 1985-1999.<p>DoD 1985-1999 = $246 billion to $262 billion = 1.065x increase over 14 years<p>Total 1985-1999 = $946 billion to $1.7 trillion = 1.7x increase<p>So the total government is growing at a similar rate, but DoD exploded in size in the last 14 years.
Beautiful visualization! I really like it.<p>Only semi-related, but something I've always wondered: Like a lot of other sources, this graph shows us running surplus in '98 & '99.<p>At the same time, the federal debt increased in those years:<p><a href="http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/histdebt/histdebt_histo4.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/histdebt/histd...</a><p>Can anyone explain why?