The Importance Of Taxes In Washington

1528 Words7 Pages
On the money Where will Americans' taxes go in 2011? April 17, 2011 12:00 AM ShareThis| Print Story | E-Mail Story Brian Riedl McClatchy-Tribune Taxpayers frantically filing their 1040s — as well as anyone following the spending and deficit debate in Washington — may be asking where exactly their tax dollars are going. Some believe most spending goes to welfare and foreign aid. Others believe defense and corporate welfare dominate the budget. In realty, Social Security and Medicare are the largest programs, and are set to nearly double over the next decade. Overall, Washington will spend $32,137 per household in 2011 — the highest level in American history (adjusted for inflation). It will collect $18,295 per household in taxes. The…show more content…
The defense budget covers everything from military paychecks, to operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, to the research, development and acquisition of new technologies and equipment. Lawmakers drastically reduced defense spending following the collapse of communism in the early 1990s. The 9/11 attacks reversed this trend, and the $2,800 per household increase since 2000 has returned defense spending closer to its historical levels (but still lower than during previous wars). Anti-poverty programs: $5,374. Nearly half of this spending subsidizes state Medicaid programs that provide health services to poor…show more content…
This spending is up 56 percent over the decade, and much of this growth is concentrated in the National Institute of Health. The category also includes the Food and Drug Administration and dozens of grant programs for health providers. Highways/mass transit: $522. Most highway and mass-transit spending is financed by the 18.4 cent per-gallon federal gas tax. Washington subtracts an administrative cost and sends this money back to the states with numerous strings attached. Justice administration: $510. Justice spending includes federal attorneys and prisons, as well as law-enforcement grant programs. New homeland security costs have added $100 per household to justice spending. The programs listed above cover $28,643 per household. The remaining $3,494 is allocated to all other federal programs, including international affairs, natural resources, the environment, regional development, farm subsidies, social services, space exploration, air transportation and energy. Taxpayers — and the next generation that will be paying nearly half of the bill — must decide for themselves if they’re getting their money’s worth. ---- Brian Riedl is the Grover M. Hermann fellow in federal budgetary affairs at The Heritage Foundation. Readers may write to the author in care of The Heritage Foundation, 214 Massachusetts Avenue NE, Washington, D.C. 20002; Web site: www.heritage.org. Information about Heritage’s funding may be found at

More about The Importance Of Taxes In Washington

Open Document