General Discussion

pathansen

(1,039 posts) Wed Sep 19, 2012, 07:52 AM Sep 2012

How your income tax dollars are spent

See:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/26941466/?slide=1
42.2% - Military
22.1% - Health
10.2% - Debt
8.7 % - Anti-poverty programs
4.4% - Education, training and social services
3.9% - government and law enforcement
3.3% - Housing and community development
2.6% - Environment, energy and science
1.5% - Agriculture, commerce and transportation
1% - International affairs
So why all the complaining about education when military spending is almost 10 times as much!
Also its 5 times more than anti-poverty programs.

13 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

How your income tax dollars are spent (Original Post) pathansen Sep 2012 OP

42% to kill people and only 8.7% to help people liberal N proud Sep 2012 #1

America was built on killing people! rfranklin Sep 2012 #2

Where are Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid? guardian Sep 2012 #3

Medicare and social security are part of the payroll tax. eqfan592 Sep 2012 #4

Doesn't matter -- it is misleading guardian Sep 2012 #5

Its not misleading. This is about Income Taxes, not payroll taxes pathansen Sep 2012 #6

"They are kept separate from income tax spending." guardian Sep 2012 #9

LOCK BOX! maxsolomon Sep 2012 #7

Do you believe in unicorns too? guardian Sep 2012 #10

Here's a link that will explain that payroll taxes can only pay for social security/medicare pathansen Sep 2012 #11

Yep guardian Sep 2012 #12

So your answer to my question is Yes. maxsolomon Sep 2012 #13

Yet education and health care are the first things cut from every Congressional budget. n/t porphyrian Sep 2012 #8

liberal N proud

(60,332 posts)

1. 42% to kill people and only 8.7% to help people

Reply to pathansen (Original post)

Wed Sep 19, 2012, 07:59 AM

Sep 2012

rfranklin

(13,200 posts)

2. America was built on killing people!

Reply to pathansen (Original post)

Wed Sep 19, 2012, 08:11 AM

Sep 2012

Why stop now?

guardian

(2,282 posts)

3. Where are Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid?

Reply to pathansen (Original post)

Wed Sep 19, 2012, 09:42 AM

Sep 2012

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0472.pdf

Actual numbers are closer to

24% Medicare/Medicaid (Federal portion only)
21% Social Security
19% military

Yes the military is too big. But it is NOT half the Federal outlays. If we cant deal with reality how can we stress the importance of raising revenues to cover expenditures?

These charts/figures that intentionally exclude Social Security and Medicare are pathetic infantile fantasy.

eqfan592

(5,963 posts)

4. Medicare and social security are part of the payroll tax.

Reply to guardian (Reply #3)

Wed Sep 19, 2012, 09:46 AM

Sep 2012

The OP seems to be about the federal income tax only, separate from the payroll tax. I could be wrong tho...

guardian

(2,282 posts)

5. Doesn't matter -- it is misleading

Reply to eqfan592 (Reply #4)

Wed Sep 19, 2012, 09:50 AM

Sep 2012

Are you going to do a chart showing only expenditures from Federal gasoline tax revenue? How about Federal alcohol tax revenue? or cigarettes? How about oil lease revenue?

I call BS

pathansen

(1,039 posts)

6. Its not misleading. This is about Income Taxes, not payroll taxes

Reply to guardian (Reply #5)

Wed Sep 19, 2012, 02:37 PM

Sep 2012

Income taxes do not include payroll taxes.
Payroll taxes, by law, only go towards social security and medicare.
They are kept separate from income tax spending.

guardian

(2,282 posts)

9. "They are kept separate from income tax spending."

Reply to pathansen (Reply #6)

Wed Sep 19, 2012, 05:42 PM

Sep 2012

LOL that's a good one! Are you a professional comedian?

maxsolomon

(33,244 posts)

7. LOCK BOX!

Reply to guardian (Reply #3)

Wed Sep 19, 2012, 02:44 PM

Sep 2012

is SS not funded by a trust fund that we all pay into and is separate from the rest of the federal budget, except when they decide to raid it?

guardian

(2,282 posts)

10. Do you believe in unicorns too?

Reply to maxsolomon (Reply #7)

Wed Sep 19, 2012, 05:52 PM

Sep 2012

http://www.ssa.gov/oact/trsum/index.html

pathansen

(1,039 posts)

11. Here's a link that will explain that payroll taxes can only pay for social security/medicare

Reply to guardian (Reply #10)

Wed Sep 19, 2012, 06:13 PM

Sep 2012

while income tax pays for everything else:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_are_payroll_taxes_different_from_personal_income_taxes

I bet you are secretly a Freeper, arn't you? You sound like one.

guardian

(2,282 posts)

12. Yep

Reply to pathansen (Reply #11)

Wed Sep 19, 2012, 06:28 PM

Sep 2012

Wiki answers trumps the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees every time. The purported 'lockbox' has been raided for decades now. For all practical purposes there is no separation between SS/Medicare and the general fund. We need to increase tax revenues to make it solvent.

See President Obama's fiscal commission assessment and recommendations (starts on page 48):
http://www.fiscalcommission.gov/sites/fiscalcommission.gov/files/documents/TheMomentofTruth12_1_2010.pdf

You'll probably accuse President Obama of being a Freeper now.

maxsolomon

(33,244 posts)

13. So your answer to my question is Yes.

Reply to guardian (Reply #10)

Thu Sep 20, 2012, 12:22 PM

Sep 2012

I didn't say it wasn't raided, i said that IN THEORY it's not supposed to be raided, and the infamous "LOCK BOX" was to prevent such accounting tricks.

porphyrian

(18,530 posts)

8. Yet education and health care are the first things cut from every Congressional budget. n/t

Reply to pathansen (Original post)

Wed Sep 19, 2012, 02:46 PM

Sep 2012

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