To celebrate tax season, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has compiled a nice summary of where your dollars go (or, more specifically, where they went last year.)
In brief, the federal government took in more than $2.5 trillion in tax revenues in fiscal 2007, and spent more than $2.7 trillion (the $162 billion difference represents the budget deficit, to be paid by your kids and grandkids).
Twenty-two percent ($590 billion) of that $2.7 trillion went to defense and national security, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Social Security consumed 21 percent ($586 billion), while Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP ate $572 billion (21 percent).
Lesser expenses included interest on the national debt ($237 billion, or 9 percent); benefits for federal retirees and veterans (6 percent); scientific and medical research (3 percent); transportation infrastructure (2 percent); education (2 percent); and international programs such as food aid (less than 1 percent).
Not many surprises here, perhaps, but it is a good representation of a nation’s priorities. As CBPP noted in its report:
While “government spending” is often decried, it is important to look behind the rhetoric and determine whether the actual public services that government provides are worth paying for. To the extent that such services are worth paying for, the only way to do so is with tax revenue. Consequently, when thinking about the costs that taxes impose, it is essential to balance those costs against the benefits the nation receives from public services.
Doing just the opposite, President George W. Bush yesterday urged Congress to make his tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans permanent.
