We are taxed way to much:
Estimated receipts for fiscal year 2007 were $2.4 trillion.

* $1.1 trillion - Individual income tax
* $884.1 billion - Social Security and other payroll taxes
* $260.6 billion - Corporate income tax
* $74.6 billion - Excise taxes
* $28.1 billion - Customs duties
* $23.7 billion - Estate and gift taxes
* $48.4 billion - Other
The IRS estimated that there were about $345 billion in uncollected taxes.


The President's actual budget for 2007 totals $2.8 trillion. Percentages in parentheses indicate percentage change compared to 2006. This budget request is broken down by the following expenditures:

* $586.1 billion (+7.0%) - Social Security
* $548.8 billion (+9.0%) - Defense[2]
* $394.5 billion (+12.4%) - Medicare
* $367.0 billion (+2.0%) - Unemployment and welfare
* $276.4 billion (+2.9%) - Medicaid and other health related
* $243.7 billion (+13.4%) - Interest on debt
* $89.9 billion (+1.3%) - Education and training
* $76.9 billion (+8.1%) - Transportation
* $72.6 billion (+5.8%) - Veterans' benefits
* $43.5 billion (+9.2%) - Administration of justice
* $33.1 billion (+5.7%) - Natural resources and environment
* $32.5 billion (+15.4%) - Foreign affairs
* $27.0 billion (+3.7%) - Agriculture
* $26.8 billion (+28.7%) - Community and regional development
* $25.0 billion (+4.0%) - Science and technology
* $23.5 billion (+0.0%) - Energy
* $20.1 billion (+11.4%) - General government

Well, at least we are winning the war in Iraq:
Total requested Dod/WoT spending is $699 billion, or 65% of total net Discretionary spending.


EDIT: Forgot to put source - Wikipedia and IRS return.

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gosh, that "interest on debt" category sticks out like a sore thumb, doesn't it? totally unnecessary, and largely Boy King's doing...

i believe the costs of gluttonous contracts by private, bumbling companies and billed to the Pentagon is grossly underestimated in those figures... grossly..

Iraq is costing $1.5-1.8 trillion... don't be fooled...

lastly... it's not a "war" in Iraq, it's an occupation... and you don't "win" an occupation...

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... CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, CNN, NYT.
"They have redefined General news."

Instead of doing it this way may be more understandable if they did it by funcitioning, i.e. defense, homeland security, medicare, veteran's affairs etc. .. may get a clearer picture, I suspect that defense and homeland security are higher than one might think.. some of their expenditures are mixed in several categories. For example, should defense spending and care of veteran's be in the same category?

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$43.5 billion (+9.2%) - Administration of justice
$32.5 billion (+15.4%) - Foreign affairs
$20.1 billion (+11.4%) - General government
$96.1 billion (+12%) - Total governmental bureaucracy

$548.8 billion (+9.0%) - Defense[2]
$72.6 billion (+5.8%) - Veterans' benefits
$621.4 billion (+7.4%) – Total military

$243.7 billion (+13.4%) - Interest on debt

$33.1 billion (+5.7%) - Natural resources and environment
$26.8 billion (+28.7%) - Community and regional development
$25.0 billion (+4.0%) - Science and technology
$23.5 billion (+0.0%) – Energy
$27.0 billion (+3.7%) – Agriculture
$212.3 billion (+10.4%) Total infrastructure and R&D

$394.5 billion (+12.4%) - Medicare
$367.0 billion (+2.0%) - Unemployment and welfare
$276.4 billion (+2.9%) - Medicaid and other health related
$89.9 billion (+1.3%) - Education and training
$586.1 billion (+7.0%) - Social Security
$1.7143 trillion (+5.12) – Total purely social programs

note the largest increase % is interest on debt.

You're right, though. Homeland security gets buried in general government and a lot of military research gets buried in science and technology and foreign affairs. It's not a good breakdown.

How can one tell if any of those numbers show waste? There probably is some waste, but without context and far greater details, those numbers mean nothing. If I said to you my household spends $5000/year on entertainment would that mean anything? You'd have to know the size of my household, what's I include in entertainment, how much I earn, even what I spend it on for it to have any meeting. Those numbers create a very superficial argument.

Actually I'm surprised to see that social programs are almost three times defense.

A good start for me would be :

- Immediately start means testing for social security. Incrementally based on net worth you get it from 100% rolling down to 0%. Make it an old age welfare system not a retirement system. Use the money that's no longer paid out to pay down the debt, I think we could hit it fairly hard. Once the debt is gone, or more manageable, then the SS tax can be reduced. I know some will say "well that wasn't the deal" - too bad; if we're looking for ways to cut spending we have to cut it somewhere. I've paid in for 18 years and would get a cut when I retire but that's OK.

Obviously there's other stuff I would do; largely making a lot more stuff for states not the feds, that would reduce those horrendous earmarks which are relatively small but still money. There should be a much more limited amount of stuff the feds pay for.

But the SS thing is the biggie to me that could really make a difference. And, yes, I'd reduce defense by getting the hell out of foreign countries. If they want to blow each other and their neighbors up - so be it.

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Whats wrong with combining medical care and social security? You pay into it every pay check and if you get hurt then theres your medical. If you don't get hurt then when you retire you get your money back. That way the money we spend goes to use and everyone has medical care.

As far as letting other countries blow themselves up... that wouldn't be good for us at all - we don't mine our own oil so we gotta get it somehow

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I'm not exactly sure what you're saying here, are you saying this "medical care" I'm now paying into would replace the health insurance I currently pay ? And if it's paying for everyone's medical care, I'm not getting any unused money back, the rising population would see to that.

Yes, I would still hang out in some areas until we have an alternate fuel; which is another thing I would put mega bucks into - I would even vote for a tax increase if it were SOLELY to get an alternative fuel solution within the next 10 years.

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No - it would be a single payer system. you pay for your own. The social security money you already pay for right now would replace your medical system you pay for right now and any unused money in your "Social Security/Medical care" would be social security when you retire. It would OBVIOUSLY have to be tweaked a bit but its just a random idea.

And why not just pull out all together and mine our own oil until we have alternative fuels?

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I'm in favor of giving LESS to the government, not more, and handling situations as they arise myself. A lesser amount could be donated as welfare for those who are incapable of handling their own lives.

I'd do it if we could. Anwar is said to give us a year+. We probably have a bunch off the coasts where we aren't allowing ourselves to drill. I'd love to cut off all foreign oil if we had a 5 year supply - thereby putting a timetable on when we have to find a solution.

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