What are the causes in the changes in priorities in government spending over the last 40 years? Cite examples for both purchases and transfers.

Depending on what world events were occurring from the 15 year war in Vietnam to the Arab-Israeli conflicts which impacted the oil supply to the fall of the Iron Curtain and the end of the Cold War, defense spending has fluctuated but has generally declined. Transfer payments have increased from the inception of the War on Poverty in the mid-60s. The development of Medicare, increased aging of the population and several severe recessions continued to put upward pressure on the transfer payment portions of the federal budget.