Wildcard Ky
Southern culture liason
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2004
- Posts
- 3,145
This is from "The Motley Fool". The average household expenditure is $21,671. Here's where the $21,671 is spent:
Social Security and Medicare: $7,165.
Defense: $4,240. Cowen notes that, "Lawmakers drastically cut defense spending throughout the 1990s. The September 11 attacks reversed this trend, and the $1,300 per household increase since 2001 has returned defense spending to its historical levels."
Low-income programs: $3,479. "Nearly half of this spending subsidizes state Medicaid programs that provide health services to poor families. In line with economywide health-care trends, Medicaid costs are rising 10 percent per year."
Interest on the federal debt: $1,460. "Washington is $7 trillion in debt. It owes $4 trillion to the public that owns its bonds and the rest to other federal agencies. Record-low interest rates have reduced the interest payments by $1,000 per household over the last six years. As interest rates climb back to normal levels, so will these costs to taxpayers."
Federal employee retirement benefits: $835.
Health research and regulation: $619.
Education: $583. (This is the federal government's portion of education spending -- it's only about 8% of overall public spending on education -- the rest comes from state and local governments.)
Veterans benefits: $565.
Unemployment benefits: $451.
Highways and mass transit: $400.
Justice administration: $389. This includes federal lawyer costs, as well as prisons and homeland security initiatives.
International affairs: $320.
The remaining $1,165 is allocated to all other federal programs, such as farm subsidies, environmental programs, space exploration, air transportation, and community development.
Social Security and Medicare: $7,165.
Defense: $4,240. Cowen notes that, "Lawmakers drastically cut defense spending throughout the 1990s. The September 11 attacks reversed this trend, and the $1,300 per household increase since 2001 has returned defense spending to its historical levels."
Low-income programs: $3,479. "Nearly half of this spending subsidizes state Medicaid programs that provide health services to poor families. In line with economywide health-care trends, Medicaid costs are rising 10 percent per year."
Interest on the federal debt: $1,460. "Washington is $7 trillion in debt. It owes $4 trillion to the public that owns its bonds and the rest to other federal agencies. Record-low interest rates have reduced the interest payments by $1,000 per household over the last six years. As interest rates climb back to normal levels, so will these costs to taxpayers."
Federal employee retirement benefits: $835.
Health research and regulation: $619.
Education: $583. (This is the federal government's portion of education spending -- it's only about 8% of overall public spending on education -- the rest comes from state and local governments.)
Veterans benefits: $565.
Unemployment benefits: $451.
Highways and mass transit: $400.
Justice administration: $389. This includes federal lawyer costs, as well as prisons and homeland security initiatives.
International affairs: $320.
The remaining $1,165 is allocated to all other federal programs, such as farm subsidies, environmental programs, space exploration, air transportation, and community development.
