- Editor's Note
-
- The following report by the National Priorities Project
(NPP) shows how the surge in military spending in recent years is leading
to the demise of State supported social programs in America.
-
- More than a quarter of what you pay in taxes goes to
finance Washington's military adventure in the Middle East and the deployment,
around the World, of an extensive arsenal of weapons of mass destruction.
-
- These figures do not include the various black budgets
allocated to the mliary and intelligence apparatus, which do not appear
in US public accounts.
-
- The surge in defense hits Education. For every dollar
spent on education, more than five dollars are spent on what is euphemistically
referred to "defense".
-
- --Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research
-
-
- WHERE DO YOUR TAX DOLLARS GO?
- THE UNITED STATES April 2007
-
- Military, health and interest on the debt consume two-thirds
of every income tax dollar.
-
- The median income family in the United States paid $3,736
in federal income taxes in 2006 . Here is how that amount was spent:
- Military$1,014Interest on the Debt (Military)$340Interest
on the Debt (Non-Military)$385Health$779Income Security$224Education$169Veterans'
Benefits$125Nutrition$98Housing$70Natural Resources$57Job Training$11Other$463
-
- Notes: The breakdown of the income tax dollar is based
on an analysis of each agency's federal fund outlays according to function
and sub-function (category) for fiscal year 2006, which can be found in
OMB, Budget of the U.S. Government, FY2008, Analytical Perspectives. Numbers
may not add up due to rounding. Military includes the government definition
of national defense, international security assistance and Iraq-related
spending in the Executive Office of the President. Income security includes
Supplemental Security Income (aimed at elderly, disabled and blind with
low income), tax credit programs, TANF, child care spending and other programs
aimed at families. Other includes the following function and sub-function
areas: general science, space and technology, international affairs other
than military assistance, energy, agriculture, commerce and housing credit,
transportation, community and regional development, labor and social services
other than job training, justice, general government, and undistributed
offsetting receipts.
-
- http://nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=285
- Where do Your Tax Dollars Go? Notes and Sources
- National Priorities Project ® 17 New South Street,
Suite 302 ® Northampton, MA 01060
- www.nationalpriorities.org ® info@nationalpriorities.org
® 413.584.9556
- ©2007 National Priorities Project, Inc.
- Past and current military spending totals 40 cents
-
- Military spending accounted for 27 cents of every income
tax dollar paid. But that only tells part of the story. At least nine cents
of every federal income tax dollar paid today can be attributed to borrowing
to pay for past wars and military build-ups. On top of that, disability
payments, health care and other benefits accrued to veterans make up a
little over three cents of the federal income tax dollar.
-
- This number only promises to grow larger. Since the war
began, Congress has appropriated or spent nearly half a trillion dollars
on the Iraq War alone. Like other wars before it, this one is also deficit
financed, which means hundreds of billions of dollars more in interest
payments. Veterans' disability payments and health care costs of the many,
permanently-disabled soldiers will also add hundreds of billions over the
coming years.
-
- Pennies left for other spending
-
- Non-military tools of national security claim little
of the tax dollar. Spending on preventive security measures
such as diplomacy, economic development assistance, and locking down nuclear
materials amounted to only three-quarters of a penny.
-
- Put it all together, and Americans are spending roughly
40 cents of every tax dollar on past and present military spending.
-
- While global warming becomes more alarming and verifiable,
investing in renewable energy and conservation amounted to only hundredths
of a penny of the federal income tax dollar.
-
- All of our national parks, natural resources, pollution
abatement and any other environmental spending came to only one and a half
cents of the income tax dollar.
-
- Meeting domestic needs such as affordable housing, nutrition
and other forms of nutrition support received only a few pennies each.
Health, however, comprised a large portion of the federal income tax dollar
at 20 cents due to rising medical costs and increasing benefits for seniors.
Nevertheless, the number and percentage of uninsured Americans continues
to rise.
-
- National Priorities Project (NPP) is a 501(c)(3) research
organization that analyzes and clarifies federal data so that people can
understand and influence how their tax dollars are spent. Located in Northampton,
MA, since 1983, NPP focuses on the impact of federal spending and other
policies at the national, state, congressional district and local levels.
For more information, go to <http://www.nationalpriorities.org/>www.nationalpriorities.org
.
-
-
- Breakdown of the Individual Income Tax Dollar: Your income
taxes are allocated to the federal funds budget; this is the budget that
has been broken down for the chart on page 1 of Where Do Your Tax Dollars
Go? The total federal government budget includes the federal funds and
the trust funds budgets. Trust funds include Social Security, Railroad
Retirement, and others. All numbers are derived from the tables of individual
federal agency budgets as provided in the <http://www.globalresearch.ca/>Office
of Management and Budget (OMB), Budget of the U.S. Government, FY2008,
Analytical Perspectives. The breakdown is for outlays (as opposed to budget
authority) in fiscal year 2006, since this most closely corresponds to
your tax filing. Total federal funds outlays in 2006 were $2,055,074,000,000.
We have defined the categories on the bar chart as follows:
-
-
- Median Income Family Taxes: The median income family's
taxes were computed first by forecasting 2006 income levels by state from
the 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 American Community Survey. Data for cities,
towns and counties that were at least 65,000 in population were available
in the 2005 American Community Survey for the first time. For those that
were available, we calculated the city/town/county family median income
as a percentage of the state level in 2005. We then applied that percentage
to the state forecast for 2006 to come up with a 2006 level for the city,
town or county. For smaller cities, towns and counties, we based the number
on state and local data from the 2000 Census. Then, the tax estimate was
computed by assuming standard deductions and exemptions for a married couple
with one dependent, including one child credit. No other deductions or
credits were assumed. Additional data and statistics on income and taxes
are available at:
-
- <http://www.globalresearch.ca/>NPP Database
- <http://www.globalresearch.ca/>Census Bureau
- <http://www.globalresearch.ca/>Internal Revenue
Service
-
-
- Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the
sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those
of the Centre for Research on Globalization.
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- © Copyright National Priorities Project, <http://nationalpriorities.org/>National
Priorities Project, 2007
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