public spending is highly correlated with age; average per capita public spending for seniors was more than five times that for children ($6,921 versus $1,225). average public spending for non-hispanic blacks ($2,973) was slightly higher than that for whites ($2,675), while spending for hispanics ($1,967) was significantly lower than the population average ($2,612). total public spending is also strongly correlated with self-reported health status ($13,770 for those reporting "poor" health versus $1,279 for those reporting "excellent" health).