NATIONAL PRIORITIES The Nation’s Budget

This year (2011), the U.S. govt. will spend $3.6 TRILLION. Just 3 programs (Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid) account for approx. 60% of this total. This part of the budget is called “mandatory spending” because the U.S. govt. has already promised these benefits. About 7% goes to paying the interest on our national debt (which is about $14.3 trillion). This is also mandatory spending. The rest—about 33%, or $1.2 trillion—goes for “everything else.” This is called “discretionary spending” because we have “discretion” (choice) in these budget areas.

Here’s the “everything else…” for 2011: FYI: The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost $1.1 TRILLION (so far…).

U.S. vs. World Military Spending In 2008, the world spent $1.5 trillion on military spending. The U.S. accounted for almost half of this total.

Who pays our taxes?

Corporate & Personal Tax Rates Corporate Rates Personal Rates

Corporations & Taxes BUT…most corps. pay NO taxes because of various loopholes in the tax code.