Re: shuttle disaster
On Sat, Feb 08, 2003 at 02:57:29AM -0600, Gary Turner wrote:
> Paul Johnson wrote:
> >Considering the military accounts for over 40% of government spending,
> >I think we found a place to start trimming fat heavily. Especially if
> >our politicians are going to keep claiming we're a peace-loving
> >nation. Peace-loving nations don't spend damn near half thier money
> >on a military.
>
> Uh, that's not exactly factual. The 40% you refer must be the amount
> spent on militant oldsters for Social Security (22%), Medicare (11%),
> and Medicaid (7%). The portion of the budget spent on defense is
> 17%.[1] The amazing tales of the amounts supposedly being spent on the
> military seem to be urban legends that just keep getting repeated.
It's about 40% of *discretionary* spending. So, you're both right.
Since Social Security, et al. are mandatory programs with separate
payroll deductions, they are often excluded from budget discussions.
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