Federal spending- where does the money go

[GwinnettNole]

I'm hoping we can keep this civil-- for people who have no idea how much money the federal government spends the below link breaks it down pretty well. I'll admit I had no idea where the majority of spending goes-- I finally found a easy to understand site with the break down.

https://www.nationalpriorities.org/...01/spending/?gclid=CJTwx-zwl8kCFUM2gQodPmMLig

As a lifelong long conservative/moderate I was amazed 53% goes to military projects.
A question though: for food for the poor and other programs designated to help people in need-- are those on the state level? Meaning they wouldn't be calculated in this?

 

[vevois23]

Amazed? I thought it was pretty common knowledge that military spending dominates our budget.

As I recall (probably incorrectly) a lot of those programs (and some transportation/road too) are on a reimbursement basis. So there is probably isn't an obligation until funds are reimbursed.

 

[GwinnettNole]

Amazed? I thought it was pretty common knowledge that military spending dominates our budget.
.

I didn't know it was more than half of 3 trillion dollars. I bet this isn't as widespread known as some think.

 

[vevois23]

The exact figure, or even how much the total budget is? You are probably right.

But I'd be willing to wager that if you pull a Leno and ask random's on the street where a majority of the Federal Budget gets spent at, you would be surprised at the results. I would say it would fall in the range of 45-55%.

I use common knowledge rather loosely, b/c I find it a similar term to common sense. The older I get I realize that neither is all that common.

 

[Fijimn]

Data does not include budget for the current war on terror (Iraq/'Stan). Those are off-budget special discretionary spending.

Moreover, the injured, infirmed and retired and moved over to the health, medical and pension spending.

 

[NoleMac]

You read it wrong. The 53% you refer to for military (598.5 billion) comes out of discretionary funding, or out of the 1.1trillion dollars that congress 'controls' on an annual basis. SS, snap, medicare, health care, unemployment, labor and others (mandatory spending) take 2.45 trillion and the rules for these are reviewed occasionally.

Military spending takes 15.9% of the budget.

Just read the graphs.

 

[wdnole]

You read it wrong. The 53% you refer to for military (598.5 billion) comes out of discretionary funding, or out of the 1.1trillion dollars that congress 'controls' on an annual basis. SS, snap, medicare, health care, unemployment, labor and others (mandatory spending) take 2.45 trillion and the rules for these are reviewed occasionally.

Military spending takes 15.9% of the budget.

Just read the graphs.

This, come on man read your own link fully instead of perpetuating a myth held by a certain large segment of the population.

 

[GwinnettNole]

This, come on man read your own link fully instead of perpetuating a myth held by a certain large segment of the population.

Yeah stand corrected. I thought that was high but assumed the person that sent it to me knew what he was talking about. I actually feel a little better about this now...

 

[NoleMac]

It's cool. I'm hoping you go back and correct the person who sent you this and was mis-understanding the graphs as well. Hopefully Vevois gets it too.

BTW, provide for the common defense is one of the few things the federal government is to provide for and should be 53% of the budget (hint: the budget needs to be reduced, as should the reach of the federal government).

 

[ggmike1992]

Just keep paying my salary (sal- ree).

 

[surfnole]

Even at 15% of total spending, we spend more on our military than the next 9 countries combined. And I am too lazy to google it. Still, the real money to be saved is in mandatory spending. When SS was created, people didn't start collecting until after the average age of death. Now its a 20 year retirement program.

 

[OrlandNole]

 

[SWFNole]

Amazed? I thought it was pretty common knowledge that military spending dominates our budget.

As I recall (probably incorrectly) a lot of those programs (and some transportation/road too) are on a reimbursement basis. So there is probably isn't an obligation until funds are reimbursed.

A good portion, yes. Dominate? Not close.

 

[Bubbz]

The secret space program, seriously.

 

[YogiNole]

Before any discussion I tried to find the source for this data but the links on this website are interesting. They only provide detailed links within their own website. Any outside link is a generic one to the OMB home page. Makes me question their agenda. If you're truly unbiased provide all data and let readers make their own conclusions.

 

[seminole97]

Before any discussion I tried to find the source for this data but the links on this website are interesting. They only provide detailed links within their own website. Any outside link is a generic one to the OMB home page. Makes me question their agenda. If you're truly unbiased provide all data and let readers make their own conclusions.

From der wiki:

Origins
"The National Priorities Project was founded by Greg Speeter in 1983 to help community groups understand and respond to federal budget cuts in Massachusetts communities.
Curious why so many social programs were closing in Springfield, MA Speeter found that during a two-year period, the First Congressional District had lost over $54 million in federal funding for housing, education, health care and other areas.
Shocked by this report, the district’s Congressperson, Silvio Conte, became a strong supporter of more federal spending for community-based programs and came out against a "balanced budget amendment" that slashed the federal safety net."