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I'm curious what your source is for that, because that's pretty remarkable, especially given the outcry about out-of-control military spending.
by indigochill 6y ago
I'm curious what your source is for that, because that's pretty remarkable, especially given the outcry about out-of-control military spending.
- benjaminmarks 6y agoArbitrarily citing https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/policy-basics-where-do-our-federal-tax-dollars-go https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/policy-basics-w... The bulk of social services spending is social security and medicare, which _each_ account for somewhere between 20-30% of federal spending. Military spending is closer to 15-20% of the federal budget
- brchr 6y agoThere are some semantic issues, e.g., the distinction between "mandatory" and "discretionary" expenditures, but the data is pretty easy to explore. Essentially you are "both right". > 50% of total spending is Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Whether that is "social services" is another semantic question. And > 50% of the discretionary budget is defense. But have a look for yourself: e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_budget https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_budget
- throwaway894345 6y ago> Whether that is "social services" is another semantic question. This is puzzling to me. I don't think I've ever heard anyone argue that social security, medicare, and medicaid aren't social services. As far as I'm aware, everyone agrees that these are all social services. I would be curious to hear arguments for excluding it from the "social services" rubric.