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The largest fraction, totaling about $300b itself, is military retirement programs and funding. The other largest fraction is internal spending on healthcare

The largest fraction, totaling about $300b itself, is military retirement programs and funding. The other largest fraction is internal spending on healthcare for active duty members and their families. The individual agencies collectively spend only around $100b. Likewise the other large fraction of the total budget outside the DoD is healthcare spending. We spend a huge amount of money and we don't seem to have healthcare outcomes which justify these costs. Right now 1 out of every 5 dollars of spent GDP comes from the government. 85% of that money comes from individual tax payers and only 7% from businesses. The system is flailing from top to bottom.

rgbrenner 2y ago
Right now 1 out of every 5 dollars of spent GDP comes from the government. Why prefix with "Right now"? It's been roughly 20% since 1975, and only marginally lower for the 25 years before that. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYONGDA188S https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYONGDA188S The other side of that (taxes) has changed much more substantially during that time (lower).
- timewizard 2y ago
  > Why prefix with "Right now"? I'm probably just a bit older than you might assume. > and only marginally lower for the 25 years before that. Really I was doing a bad job of highlighting this problem: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYFSGDA188S https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYFSGDA188S > has changed much more substantially during that time (lower). The burden has shifted /more/ onto individual tax payers and less from business and excise taxes was the particular point I was driving at. It suggests more clearly who actually got those "lower" taxes and why our linked graphs paint a bad future.
mmooss 2y ago
> The largest fraction, totaling about $300b itself, is military retirement programs and funding. The other largest fraction is internal spending on healthcare for active duty members and their families. Imagine the benefits to defense if the US reduced health care costs from the 2x-3x it spends relative to peers. I've thought that would be an appealing way to sell healthcare reform to Republicans.

rgbrenner 2y ago

Right now 1 out of every 5 dollars of spent GDP comes from the government. Why prefix with "Right now"? It's been roughly 20% since 1975, and only marginally lower for the 25 years before that. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYONGDA188S https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYONGDA188S The other side of that (taxes) has changed much more substantially during that time (lower).

timewizard 2y ago
> Why prefix with "Right now"? I'm probably just a bit older than you might assume. > and only marginally lower for the 25 years before that. Really I was doing a bad job of highlighting this problem: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYFSGDA188S https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYFSGDA188S > has changed much more substantially during that time (lower). The burden has shifted /more/ onto individual tax payers and less from business and excise taxes was the particular point I was driving at. It suggests more clearly who actually got those "lower" taxes and why our linked graphs paint a bad future.

mmooss 2y ago

> The largest fraction, totaling about $300b itself, is military retirement programs and funding. The other largest fraction is internal spending on healthcare for active duty members and their families. Imagine the benefits to defense if the US reduced health care costs from the 2x-3x it spends relative to peers. I've thought that would be an appealing way to sell healthcare reform to Republicans.