Spend My Taxes

Spend My Taxes

Taxes Are What We Pay For Civilized Society

A word about these charts. They come from the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies. Their methodology is fully explained here.

When I began to research this project, theirs was and remains the easiest and most logical analysis to understand.

Chart 1

This is represents all seven trillion dollars of Federal spending. Approximately 75% of the budget is mandatory spending and interest on the debt.

Chart 2

This chart breaks down what is in that 75% of the wedge. This is what is non-negotiable when those of us outside government discuss the budget.

Chart 3

This chart represents that small yellow wedge in Chart 1. This is where we have a say. This is the discretionary budget. 

Chart 4

Here’s the big picture, all of it mashed together, and sorted by total outlay to each pie slice.