Where are you getting $1.9T? The numbers you cited don't seem to back that up. Social security was $857B, but is entirely self funded through the payroll tax,

Where are you getting $1.9T? The numbers you cited don't seem to back that up. Social security was $857B, but is entirely self funded through the payroll tax, Medicare was $519B, and the rest of the social safety net programs were $370B[1]. Also, I would quibble about the defense number. Missing appear to be $151B for veterans affairs (part of the price tag for our wars), and the interest on debt from past wars makes up the bulk of our interest payments of $223B. [1]http://www.cbpp.org/research/policy-basics-where-do-our-federal-tax-dollars-go http://www.cbpp.org/research/policy-basics-where-do-our-fede...