Final answer:
Since 1980, federal grants to states have increased, primarily due to a rise in funding for health-related programs such as Medicaid and a general trend of escalating federal support for state and local governments.
Step-by-step explanation:
Since 1980, federal grants to states have increased. This is indicated by the rising amounts observed in Figure 3.13, demonstrating that federal grants to state and local governments have risen steadily since the 1960s. A significant part of this increase can be attributed to health-related programs such as Medicaid, which saw its funding grow from $43.8 billion in 1990 to $320 billion in 2014.
Under President Reagan in the 1980s, there was a shift towards block grants to promote state discretion in spending, but the overall trend of increasing federal assistance continued. The federal government's revenue expansion has enabled it to transfer more grant money to lower levels of government, forming a larger part of their total revenue.
Block grants have fluctuated over the years but the general trend for total federal grants has been an increase, reflecting a broader reliance of state and local government budgets on federal funding to support a variety of services and programs.