Fw: 42 Percent of Your Tax Dollars Buys More War

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kathy Guthrie"
To: "Miriam Vieni"
Sent: Friday, March 11, 2005 3:04 PM
Subject: FCNL: 42 Percent of Your Tax Dollars Buys More War

Tax day is April 15. Did you know that about 42% of our income taxes
this year will go for military purposes?

This figure is computed based on federal funds outlays in fiscal year
2004 (FY04) of $1.7 trillion. The federal funds budget includes
spending for all discretionary programs (for which Congress
appropriates funds each year) and for all mandatory programs such as
Medicaid, food stamps, Earned Income Tax Credit, and other needs-based
programs (which are paid for out of general revenues). The federal
funds budget does not include spending by trust funds such as Social
Security and Medicare, as these are paid for through separate,
dedicated payroll taxes--not income taxes.

We estimate that in total the U.S. spent $715 billion in FY04 for past,
present, and future military purposes. This includes funding for the
Defense Department, Energy Department nuclear weapons programs,
military-related activities of other agencies, international military
financing and training, expenses paid for the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan, mandatory spending for military retirement and health
care, veterans programs ($59 billion), and the estimated portion of
interest paid on the national debt which can be attributed to past wars
and military spending ($157 billion).

Why do other organizations report that a higher percentage goes for
military purposes? Most likely, their calculation includes only
"discretionary" spending, which is roughly half of the
federal funds budget that FCNL analyzes in its calculation. Their pie
leaves out lots of "mandatory" spending for programs like
interest on the debt, Medicaid, and food stamps for which our income
taxes are also used. They also leave out mandatory spending for
military retirement and health care and the portion of interest on the
debt that can be attributed to past wars and military spending. In
short, they are showing us only about half of what we pay for with our
income taxes.

For a detailed breakdown of how FCNL calculates this figure go to
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/GSREEIWJRH/NCJLEIWSST/

Click here to view the FCNL Minute on Conscientious Objection to War
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/GSREEIWJRH/EWYFEIWSSU/

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________________________________________

Friends Committee on National Legislation
245 Second St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-5795
fcnl@fcnl.org * http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/GSREEIWJRH/EVAXEIWSTC/
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We seek a world free of war and the threat of war
We seek a society with equity and justice for all
We seek a community where every person's potential may be fulfilled
We seek an earth restored.

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