January 7, 2013
CUTTING IT IN HALF IS A GOOD START:
Yes, We Have A (Defense) Spending Problem (DAVID CALLAHAN JANUARY 7, 2013, American Prospect)
Last year, in 2012, the U.S. government spent about $841 billion on security--a figure that includes defense, intelligence, war appropriations, and foreign aid. At the same time, the government collected about $1.1 trillion in individual income taxes. (And about $2.4 trillion in revenues overall if you include payroll, corporate, estate, and excise taxes.)In other words, about 80 cents of every dollar collected in traditional federal income taxes went for security. [...]While the Simpson-Bowles Commission advocated over a trillion dollars in defense cuts, President Obama's budget would only reduce spending modestly, and even that's a hard sell on Capitol Hill.
Posted by Orrin Judd at January 7, 2013 5:07 PM
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