On average, from 1960 to the present, which was higher in the United States: taxes or government spending? a. Government spending was higher than taxes. b. Taxes were higher than government spending. c. The data is insufficient to allow us to decide which has been higher over that many decades. d. Taxes and government spending have been equal to each other on average. QUESTION 4 The US federal government spends money on many different categories of things. What are the three largest "slices" or categories of federal government spending? a. Defense, Social Security, and Law Enforcement b. Law Enforcement, Education, and Foreign Aid c. Defense, Social Security, and Healthcare d. Welfare, Education, and Social Security.