The Taxman Cometh (2 days late)

The usual IRS tax deadline of April 15 came and went without the usual wringing of hands over 1040 forms and such. That's because it fell on a Sunday, so we got an extra day for filing. But wait a minute, in the Northeast, Monday, April 16 is a holiday; Patriot Day. We never celebrated that here in Wisconsin. No wonder my conservative friends always call me 'un-Patriotic.' In the District of Columbia, not even a voting member of Congress, they celebrate Emancipation Day on Monday, April 16, in honor of Abraham Lincoln's signing of the act that freed the slaves. IRS headquarters are in DC, so they were off, too. Apparently what's good for the goose, is good for the rest of the nation, so today, April 17, 2007, your tax obligation to Uncle Sam is due by midnight, tonight. (Unless you file for an extension.)

So where do our tax dollars go? MSNBC has a great article that showed how every $1,000 collected in fees and taxes was spent. I've stolen some of it here:

$219.40 Medicare and Medicaid
$206.60 The Social Security fund

$196.50 Military

$132.70 “Income security” which includes things like unemployment insurance, food and nutrition programs, housing assistance, and the cost of retirement for federal workers

$85.30 Interest on the National Debt
$44.60 Education

$26.50 Transportation

$17.40 Disaster relief

$15.40 Justice, including federal law enforcement, federal courts and prisons

$12.40 The Environment

$9.80 Agriculture

$6.90 General government costs

$6.30 International humanitarian assistance

$5.50 NASA
$3.40 General science and research

$3.20 Embassys and ambassadors

$3.20 Community and regional development.

$2.90 Security outside our borders.

To figure out the actual amount spent, just multiply each item by 2,700,000,000. Now yer talkin' real money!