This chart by Mercatus Center Senior Research Fellow Veronique de Rugy uses data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis to compare recent changes in government expenditures to those in private domestic investment. 

Government consumption and investment have generally grown more quickly than private expenditures and investment during the last decade. In the last ten years, the private sector has, on average, grown 1.2 percent annually, while the government has, on average, grown 3.5 percent annually.

Learn why government austerity is an oxymoron.