"Where Do Your Tax Dollars Go?"

A perhaps un-shocking, but important new report from the National Priorities Project (which also runs Cost of War) shows that almost 40 cents of every tax dollar that will be paid this year will be spent on past and present military projects. Healthcare is second at twenty-one cents on the dollar and interest on the US debt at nineteen cents per dollar. Here's the full breakdown:

The median income family in the United States paid $3,736 in federal income taxes in 2006. Here is how that amount was spent:

Military $1,014
Interest on the Debt (Military) $340
Interest on the Debt (Non-Military) $385
Health $779
Income Security $224
Education $169
Veterans' Benefits $125
Nutrition $98
Housing $70
Natural Resources $57
Job Training $11
Other $463

More sobering news:

Non-military tools of national security claim little of the tax dollar. Spending on preventive security measures – such as diplomacy, economic development assistance, and locking down nuclear materials – amounted to only three-quarters of a penny.

While global warming becomes more alarming and verifiable, investing in renewable energy and conservation amounted to only hundredths of a penny of the federal income tax dollar.

All of our national parks, natural resources, pollution abatement and any other environmental spending came to only one and a half cents of the income tax dollar.

Meeting domestic needs such as affordable housing, nutrition and other forms of nutrition support received only a few pennies each. Health, however, comprised a large portion of the federal income tax dollar at 20 cents due to rising medical costs and increasing benefits for seniors. Nevertheless, the number and percentage of uninsured Americans continues to rise.

So next time you hear conservatives (or anyone else) complain about how domestic spending is too high, or that we need to spend more on defense and less on foreign aid, you can give them the real facts.