NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Those who clamor for more "limited government" rarely define what they mean. But assuming nothing changes over the next decade, Americans could be left with a de facto limited government -- limited in what it will be able to do.
Today, the United States spends roughly 76 cents of every federal tax dollar on just four things: Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and interest on the $14 trillion debt. That leaves 24 cents of revenue to pay for everything else the federal government does.
http://money.cnn.com/2011/01/21/news/economy/spending_taxes_debt/index.htm?cnn=yes(Hope that works Laura)
Of course everyone says that they want to pay lower taxes and have a smaller government, but is that truly what we need? How do you think government spending can change to be more effective? This article lists a number of ideas in which the 8% of government spending could be used on, where do you think it should be spent? How can we continue to ask to raise the debt ceiling if these 'left over' government funds are just going to continue to drop? Do you think taxpayers would be willing to pay more in order to avoid more debt?
This is a really good post, Matt. I think the eight percent should be spent mostly on education and defense, although the amount of money we have poured into the Iraq war for about ten years now seems absurd to me. Especially since we didn't even find weapons of mass destruction over there. That's a whole other issue though. There is without a doubt a dilemma as taxpayers want to pay less but want the government to take care of everything. The definition of trade-off right there. I don't think sky high taxes would help our country now, considering we are in the process of recovering from a recession.
ReplyDeleteI concur. Awesome find. I would like to see more funding of course go to education, but also housing and urban development. The amount of homelessness in the US is uncalled for. On Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, more than 5,000 homes are needed to house the over 10,000 residents. But nothing is happening. Lets focus on getting the US back on its feet before continuing to fight wars on terror, communism, etc.
ReplyDeleteps the link worked ;)
At this point in time, I think that a great portion of this money should go towards trying to create jobs in America. If we create more jobs, less government money will need to be spent on unemployment compensation (I think part of this comes from the government?). Also, I think this would not be a very good time to raise taxes either, considering the state the economy is in. I also agree that it is a sticky situation in which the taxpayers don't want to have to pay more taxes but many still expect the government to be able to take care of everything.
ReplyDeleteAny rational tax payer would be totally unwilling to pay more taxes for the governments problems. When people pay taxes they like to see things get done now. Social security is (I think??) for retirement and we as a species are myopic, interest and debt repayment are for things that are already used up (and just btw, I had too google to understand the difference b/w medicaid and medicare).
ReplyDeleteIn terms of what the money should be spent on, I would think it should be spent on education and job creation. If its solely education and not much of job creation then thats kinda uses (as we all know how hard it can be too find a job when there aren't many available), so the two have to go hand in hand. Also, military spending and wars financed by debt should be cut. The fiscal management of the country that was, not so long ago, an example of success is truly astonishing. Makes me a little less mad at the fact that Pakistan has been on the brink of bankruptcy so often (also due to bad fiscal management and messed up priorities).
I agree with the many who support money allocations going towards education. I strongly believe that our future lies on those growing up today. Without solid education, how can we set high hopes for our future leaders as well as ourselves. Not to sound stereotypical, but it is the under-educated who so often fall victim to drug and crime related fates and directly contribute to our nations current position of debt and unemployment. This may be a radical way to think, but the root of the many problems in our country can be traced back to education (or lack there of).
ReplyDeleteThese numbers are a harrowing wake up call. The US is about to lose its triple a loan rating, and as a nation, we have failed to address things like social security in the future. In order for us to balance the budget, there is no other option besides increased taxes and cutting spending. I don't believe defense spending should be exempt from reevaluation. If the debt gets anymore out of hand, the government and country could lose serious credibility
ReplyDeleteI would agree that education needs to be on the list. I would say that infrastructure needs to be included in there somewhere. We have a crappy infrastructure that is like the Oliphant in the room. A focus on infrastructure means long-term projects, and jobs. The pork barrel waste of money has to stop, and we needs better trade agreements. We seemed to be doing fine before NAFTA..... But because we are an impatient people, we only elect people who promise to make changes NOW. These problems cannot be fixed in an election cycle. They take time and patience; two things we dont have.
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