Cooking the Books

[F3d]

....

[Wendi]

Define "reliable news source." I wasn't aware that America had many of those :eek:

[Harald]

There is no cooking. They are doing it in the open.

Payroll taxes + Income taxes + all other funding sources are one big pile of money out of which govt pays out whatever it needs to.
Social Security Surplus (receipt vs payout) is recorded in Social Security Trust fund.



These [Trust Fund] balances are available to finance future benefit payments and other Trust Fund expenditures – but only in a bookkeeping sense.... They do not consist of real economic assets that can be drawn down in the future to fund benefits. Instead, they are claims on the Treasury that, when redeemed, will have to be financed by raising taxes, borrowing from the public, or reducing benefits or other expenditures. The existence of large Trust Fund balances, therefore, does not, by itself, have any impact on the Government’s ability to pay benefits. (from FY 2000 Budget, Analytical Perspectives, p. 337)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_budget%2C_2007

Income

$1.1 trillion - Individual income tax
$884.1 billion - Social Security and other payroll taxes
$260.6 billion - Corporate income tax
$74.6 billion - Excise taxes
$28.1 billion - Customs duties
$23.7 billion - Estate and gift taxes
$48.4 billion - Other

Expenditures:

$586.1 billion (+7.0%) - Social Security
$548.8 billion (+9.0%) - Defense[2]
$394.5 billion (+12.4%) - Medicare
$367.0 billion (+2.0%) - Unemployment and welfare
$276.4 billion (+2.9%) - Medicaid and other health related
$243.7 billion (+13.4%) - Interest on debt
$89.9 billion (+1.3%) - Education and training
$76.9 billion (+8.1%) - Transportation
$72.6 billion (+5.8%) - Veterans' benefits
$43.5 billion (+9.2%) - Administration of justice
$33.1 billion (+5.7%) - Natural resources and environment
$32.5 billion (+15.4%) - Foreign affairs
$27.0 billion (+3.7%) - Agriculture
$26.8 billion (+28.7%) - Community and regional development
$25.0 billion (+4.0%) - Science and technology
$23.5 billion (+0.0%) - Energy
$20.1 billion (+11.4%) - General government

[freelance]

Isn't this the man who is touring the US and telling everyone that the figures are B.S.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/80fa0a2c-49ef-11dc-9ffe-0000779fd2ac.html

[Syren123]

Isn't this the man who is touring the US and telling everyone that the figures are B.S.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/80fa0a2c-49ef-11dc-9ffe-0000779fd2ac.html

Walker is the GAO Comptroller. The GAO's "Fiscal Wake Up Tour" is supposed to be going around the country for a year.

[F3d]

....

[freelance]

Walker is the GAO Comptroller. The GAO's "Fiscal Wake Up Tour" is supposed to be going around the country for a year.

Yes, that's the guy. Thanks.