Did you tear up when you submitted your taxes this year? With the government's intention to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the percentage of your money funding agencies that discriminate against you got smaller. Or were you crying? The percentage of your tax money funding agencies that support heterosexuals while denying you and your partner the exact same rights is still huge, including the biggest slices of the federal spending pie chart: Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
(For the hot LGB masochists who miss funding organizations working against them, consider a gift to GOProud. Republican candidates Huckabee, Romney, Pawlenty, Barbour, and Santorum have said they will re-instate Don't Ask, Don't Tell if elected.)
For the first time ever, you can go to this White House website, enter your tax payment amounts, and see a breakdown of where your money goes... which would be great if the percentages weren't completely bogus. In a typically slick political move, the administration has kept separate Social Security and the Medicare hospital tax, as they appear on your W-2. No surprise then, by removing a big chunk of the money, the remaining dollars look more important. Specifically, this way they can lead with the "largest" percentage of your money going to "national defense" at 26.3%. Nice for red state military hawks -- and oh yes they did color it red on the WH pie chart -- but it isn't true. It's 26.3% of your "income tax" which technically is only a part of your federal taxes. Cheap tactic. If they're going to create something called "Your Federal Taxpayer Receipt" the percentages should be based on your federal tax payment, period. For example, this one from Third Way.
(If you're confused because you're used to seeing military spending at around half the budget, you're right: That's the annual fight over discretionary spending, not the total federal budget.)
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