========================================================= W h e r e D o Y o u r T a x - D o l l a r s G o ? ========================================================= The following is taken from the February/march newsletter of the Friends Committee on National Legislation, a Quaker lobbying group. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --> [Send the 1-line message GET WAR-TAX ANALYS92 ACTIV-L to ] [LISTSERV@UMCVMB.BITNET for a copy of this file. ] --> [Send GET ACTIV-L ARCHIVE ACTIV-L to above address for a ] [listing with brief descriptions of other files available] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ===================================== T H E F E D E R A L B U D G E T : ===================================== On Monday, February 4, President Bush released his proposal for the Fiscal Year 1992 federal budget. This budget -- or whatever version of it that Congress agrees on -- will go into effect on October 1, 1991. The President has requested the highest level of military spending that he is allowed to request under the budget agreement passed last year. By FCNL's analysis, the budget includes $294 billion in military budget authority. This amount is billions of dollars higher than the average annual military budget in ALL the cold war years. =================== W A R T A X E S : =================== FCNL has completed its annual analysis of the percentage of income taxes that support the military budget and related items. We calculate that 31.2% of Fiscal Year 1990 federal funds went for current military programs. In addition, 18.9% went for expenses that were incurred because of past wars, including veterans' benefits and interest on a portion of the federal debt. For detailed information on this calculation, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to FCNL and request document number G-111. ================================================================== SPENDING PRIORITIES IN THE ADMINISTRATION PROPOSED FEDERAL BUDGET for fiscal year '92 (October 1, 1991 through September 30, 1992) ================================================================== FY92 % of Proposed Federal Funds (in $ millions) CURRENT MILITARY SPENDING 294,399.151 25.8% TOTAL COST OF PAST WARS 209,411.387 18.3% NON-MILITARY RELATED INTEREST 126,759.029 11.1% INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 30,314.077 2.6% ANTI-POVERTY PROGRAMS 175,073.163 15.3% SOCIAL PROGRAMS 84,721.612 7.4% COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT 62,474.224 5.5% SCIENCE AND THE ENVIRONMENT 36,100.454 3.2% FED. EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT & BENEFIT 43,866.042 3.8% MISCELLANEOUS GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS 85,069.702 less unallocated receipts: -85.000 -2,687.000 Pmt. to soc. sec. (off budget) -1,190.731 Gov't. programs, net 81,106.971 7.1% BUDGET TOTALS 1,144,602.462 100.0% ------------------------------------------------------------------ Notes: Total, military-related 504,186.890 44.1% Military-related interest(1) 177,219.458 15.5% Total Interest: 303,978.487 26.6% (1) Military-Related Interest: We calculate that 58.3% of the interest paid on the federal debt is due to debts that were incurred to pay for wars. What's in these categories? Spending categories are not exactly the same as those that appear as "functions" in President Bush's budget. For example, the president doesn't include foreign military assistance as a military expenditure; FCNL does. FCNL also draws out a separate category of programs that are specifically designed to assist low-income people, distinguishing these programs from other development and social programs that are intended to benefit society in general. For an itemized list of all the programs included in each category, request FCNL Document G-113 (8 pages). In 1972, the Joint Congressional Economic Committee estimated the national debt as 75% war-created due to World War II and the Korean and Indochina wars. In 1977, FCNL recalculated the percentage of the debt attributed to military- related spending. It was then two-thirds. In February 1989, we recalculated the amount, based on the recent large deficit years when military-related spending has run about half the federal funds budget, and found it to be 58.3%. Based on this calculation, more than 2.3 trillion dollars of the 4 trillion dollar federal debt is war-related. Friends Committee on National Legislation 245 Second Street, NE., Washington, DC 20002 (202) 547-6000 FAX (202) 547-6019 For a copy of the February/March Newsletter send your request with a self-addressed stamped envelope. ################################################################## From: rich@mont.cs.missouri.edu (Rich Winkel) Newsgroups: soc.veterans,alt.activism,alt.desert-storm Subject: War taxes statistics Message-ID: Date: 20 May 91 02:39:56 GMT ################################################################## ############################################################### # Rich Winkel for Activists Mailing List (AML) # ################################################################ { For more info about ACTIV-L or PeaceNet's brochure send } { inquiries to harel@dartmouth.edu / mathrich@umcvmb.bitnet } To join AML, just send the 1-line message "SUB ACTIV-L " to: LISTSERV@UMCVMB.BITNET; you should receive a confirmation message within 2 days. Alternate address: LISTSERV@UMCVMB.MISSOURI.EDU Qs/problems: Rich Winkel, MATHRICH@UMCVMB.["MISSOURI.EDU" or "BITNET"]