Hope's Economic Page

Taxes- How Does The Government Spend Money?

2007-05-30T14:28:00.000-07:00

Courtesy to http://www.warresisters.org/piechart.htm

Current Military $727 billion:

• Military Personnel $136 billion

• Operation & Maint. $249 billion

• Procurement $111 billion

• Research & Dev. $70 billion

• Construction $10 billion

• Family Housing $4 billion

• DoD misc. $6 billion

• Retired Pay $52 billion

• DoE nuclear weapons $17 billion

• NASA (50%) $9 billion

• International Security $10 billion

• Homeland Secur. (military) $31 billion

• Exec. Office of President $1 billion

• other military (non-DoD) $1 billion

• plus ... anticipated supplemental war spending requests of $20 billion in addition to $141 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan wars already incorporated into figures above

Past Military, $461 billion:

• Veterans’ Benefits $85 billion

• Interest on national debt $376 billion (80% est. to be created by military spending)

General Government$295 billion:

• Interest on debt (20%)

• Treasury

• Government personnel

• Justice Dept. • State Dept.

• Homeland Security (17%)

• International Affairs

• NASA (50%)

• Judicial

• Legislative

• other general govt.

Physical Resources$116 billion:

• Agriculture

• Interior

• Transportation

• Homeland Security (17%)

• HUD • Commerce

• Energy (non-military)

• Environmental Protection

• Nat. Science Fdtn.

• Army Corps Engineers

• Fed. Comm. Commission

• other physical resources

New York State taxes :

Military ($532.2 billion) includes the function area (referring to government categories) national defense, and sub-function area international military assistance.

Health ($377.1 billion) is the Federal funds portion of all health spending by the federal government, including the Federal funds spending on Medicare.

Interest on the Debt ($348.5 billion) refers to the interest payments paid on the national debt. The military share of the interest payment is based on the average historical share of national defense spending. Since interest payments are on the debt which has been accumulated over time, the allocation of shares between military and non-military spending takes this into account.

Income Security ($124 billion) includes Federal funds outlays on the function area income security with the exception of housing assistance, and food and nutrition assistance, which are separately illustrated on the graph. This category includes Supplemental Security Income ($38 billion) which provides cash assistance to disabled, elderly and blind who have very low incomes; payments where Earned Income Tax Credit exceeds tax liability ($34.6 billion); Temporary Assistance for Needy Families ($17.4 billion); payments where child credit exceeds tax liability ($14.6 billion); foster care and adoption assistance ($6.4 billion); child care spending and a variety of other small programs for children and families.

Education ($76 billion) includes all Federal funds outlays on elementary, secondary, and vocational education, higher education, and research and general education aids, subfunctions defined by the government.

Veterans’ Benefits and Services ($69.1 billion) includes the Federal funds portion of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and any other Federal funds spending on the function area veterans’ benefits and services.
Nutrition ($50.7 billion) includes any Federal funds outlays classified as food and nutrition assistance, including the Food Stamp program, all child nutrition programs (such as the National School Lunch Program) and others.

Housing ($37.9 billion) includes all Federal funds outlays defined by the federal government as housing assistance.

Natural Resources and the Environment ($26.6 billion) includes all spending on the government-defined function area natural resources and the environment.

Job Training ($6.3 billion) includes the total for training and employment services as defined by the government.

Other ($217.2 billion) includes everything else not listed above and is comprised of the following function and subfunction areas: international affairs outside of international security assistance (included above in military); general science, space and technology; energy; agriculture; commerce and housing credit; transportation; community and regional development; labor and social services outside of training and employment services; justice; general government; and undistributed offsetting receipts.

Savings and Debt

2007-05-22T18:00:00.001-07:00

I was blown away by this article! I couldnt believe all those numbers. It's unbelievable. How can someone possibly pay that much money? It'll take a lifetime. You can easily get carried away with a credit card. Credit cards seem convenient when you are in need of money but its not in the long run. It gives you easy access to money when it is needed. Simple as that. You're able to obtain the money so you go ahead and take advantage of it. Its hard to resist. People are getting into debt because they absolutely need the money or because they arent thinking about the bigger picture. They have one thing on their mind(shoes, clothes, electronics and whatever their heart desires). They want to be happy now and deal with the consequences later. Im quite scared of credit cards now. I dont think I should be getting one anytime soon. Financial charges ruin and damage so many lives. It can leave a person devastated and hopeless. People need to start saving up their money and prepare themselves for the future. They've got to think ahead. In this case, it isnt a good idea to live in the moment. Many Americans think they have it all and dont need to save. Especially if he/she has a high paying job. We think that we'll make more money .. so its fine if we splurge.

Australia and the United States Saving Rates

China Saving Rates

Critique of GDP Podcast

2007-05-16T07:52:00.000-07:00

Mari and Jared's GDP Podcast caught me by surprise! It was stupid of me to think I would be watching a boring podcast made by two of the most creative people I know, Mari and Jared. I enjoyed watching their podcast because they made it different from the rest. I prepared myself for a typical, monotone podcast butthey delivered the exact opposite. I love the concept they used for the podcast.The phone conversation they instilled in the podcast is a brilliant idea. The pictures of themselves on the phone, a picture of the phone ringing, and the sound effects all fit in perfectly with their concept. They were also audible.I had no trouble hearing what they were saying, I was able to hear them perfectly and clearly. They thoroughly covered the topic and helped me get a better understanding of GDP. One suggestion I would like to make is that there are not enough pictures explaining GDP. Viewers will be less confused if they were shown pictures.

US Trade Deficit- getting better?

2007-05-14T07:43:00.000-07:00

The article is inaccessible

Taxes- How Does the Government Get Money?

2007-05-14T07:38:00.000-07:00

Americans pay various types of taxes. The following are a few of many: Corporation tax, Income tax, Property tax, Retirement tax, and Sales tax. I didnt know there were so many!

Corporation tax is a tax companies are required to pay. The amount of money they are required to pay is based on their profit. The amount of income tax an individual is required to pay is also determined by how much he/she earns yearly. According to my mom and many others, income tax is a pain in the donkey because a huge amount of money is taken away. An individual who has possession of a property or properties is required to pay Property tax. Retirement tax is money used for when an individual decides to stop working and call it quits. Sales tax is one that I know all too well. Whenever I purchase a clothing or product I pay 8.25% more from the total amount. Honestly, I only knew two taxes existed.

The federal government gets money from our income taxes and the same goes for the state government.

Student Loans- Beware

2007-05-11T07:39:00.000-07:00

Culinary students are taking out large student loans because they are required to pay an expensive tuition. The tuition for culinary schools is off the charts! It shouldnt have to cost so much to pursue a dream. This is America, the land of opportunities. Come on people! Boy, am I glad that Im not planning on becoming a chef. I would have to pay off my student loans until I was wrinkly and horrifyingly saggy. There should be a certain limit to student loans. Some of these numbers presented in the article are impossible to pay back. Student loans are supposed to be beneficial to students, not burdensome. Its supposed to do more good than bad but it seems to be doing more bad than good. I was planning on taking out around 6,000 dollars. Thank God for Financial Aid.