Fucking Welfare Queens

[happyslug]

77. This is DISCRETIONARY spending, Social Security, Welfare, Food stamps etc are NOT included

Social Security, Welfare, Food stamps are non-discretionary spending. i.e. fixed by law and MUST be spent unless the underlying law is changed.

Veterans Benefits include Military "retirement". By tradition what is called "Retirement" is technically "Half pay". "Half pay" for possible activation has been the norm for Military Retirement since BEFORE the Revolution. Since Congress has NEVER ruled such "half pay" anything more then a retaining pay for later call up, the military recipients has no property right to it, and thus Congress can cut it out anytime for any reason or no reason. Thus it is technically discretionary, but in reality politically non-discretionary (i.e. the American people will support such retirement pay for military personal, even if the American people want to cut the military by 90% or more).

Percentage from the TOTAL Budget (Both discretionary and non-discretionary spending):

Non-discretionary spending:
$820 billion (22%) Social Security payments
$811 billion (21%) Medicare/Medicaid/SCHIP payments
$246 billion ( 6%) interest on the National Debt
$583 billion (15%) other ‘mandatory’ payments (including TARP)

Discretionary spending:
$700 billion (18%) national defense
$565 billion (15%) other ‘discretionary spending’
$ 97 billion ( 3%) Overseas Contingency Operations (war supplemenetals)

Revenues:

$1,294 billion (34%) individual income taxes
$990 billion (26%) social insurance (FICA/Medicare)
$365 billion (10%) corporate income taxes
$234 billion ( 6%) other taxes & duties
$901 billion (24%) budget deficit

Please note a lot of Non-discretionary spending can still be cut, but Congress has to do it by re-writing the underlying law OR do a "budget reconciliation" bill that does the same thing, but only for a year. Such "budget reconciliation" can stay in the budget for years, just passed every year. For example, the underlying law as to eviction for criminal activity has been "on or by" public housing property at least since the 1970s, but starting in the 1980s it was changed each year to "On or off" public housing property every year in every budge reconciliation bill. i.e for at least 20 years the law has been "on or off" not "on or by" for every year, as part of the budget, "on and off" is included as part of the Budget.

I bring the public housing rule for the simple reason it shows that even non-discretionary spending can be changed in the budget, thus why the GOP goes after the non-discretionary spending part of the budget every year.