What Does Government Do? The single biggest job the Federal Government undertakes today

AolNews ^ | 02/21/2011 | John Merline

[SeekAndFind]

Pop quiz. What's the biggest single job the federal government undertakes?

National defense? Nope.

Homeland security? Wrong.

Transportation? Not even close.

Law enforcement? No way.

Education? Getting colder.

Foreign aid? Are you kidding?

Nope, the biggest single thing the federal government does these days is ... cut checks.

Lots and lots and lots and lots of checks that go to individual citizens -- $2.3 trillion worth last year alone.

In fact, according to a table buried deep inside the little-noticed Historical Tables volume of the White House's 2012 budget, these "direct payments to individuals" accounted for more than two-thirds of federal spending in 2010. That's a post-war high.

Source: Office of Management and Budget, FY 2012 Budget

And that share has been steadily climbing. Payments to individuals accounted for 2.4 percent of all federal spending in 1945. By 1980 it has risen to 47 percent, and in 1992 it crossed the 50 percent mark. (See first chart.)

Where does all this money go? More than half goes to seniors through Social Security and doctors and hospitals providing Medicare benefits. Only about 38 percent goes to the poor. And the rest of the payments end up with farmers, students, the unemployed, those looking for retraining help, veterans and other select groups.

And the biggest of these direct payment programs -- Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid -- are also the fastest growing in the federal budget.

Source: The Tax Foundation, based on IRS data

At the same time, the federal government increasingly relies on fewer and fewer taxpayers to cover its costs.

In fact, according to the IRS, which collects such data, the share of income taxes paid by the richest 1 percent almost equals the share of income taxes paid by the bottom 95 percent. Today, roughly a third of those who file a tax return don't pay any federal income tax at all, or get more in refundable tax credits than they pay in taxes. (In 1985, only 18 percent fell into this camp, according to the Tax Foundation.)

When you put these two trends together, what you find is that the federal government has over the years essentially turned into a gigantic wealth-transfer machine -- taking money from a shrinking pool of taxpayers and giving it out to a growing list of favored groups.

Now, depending on your political perspective, you could view this is a good thing or a bad thing.

But whatever your view, this situation will make getting the federal budget under control increasingly difficult, since it will invariably involve pitting those writing checks against those cashing them.

[WOBBLY BOB]

whole lotta redistributin’ goin’ on out thar...

[WOBBLY BOB]

Obama’s 2012 Budget Proposal: How $3.7 Trillion Is Spent (great chart)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2673551/posts

Social Security alone is more than $9,000 per household.

Social Security fund now seen to be empty by 2037

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2663899/posts

better print more money!!

[skr]

Before check-cutting, money-grabbing (or manufacturing, as the case may be)

[Colonel Kangaroo]

Due to my days at the USPS, I would have guessed that the biggest job a federal agency ever faced was unloading trailer full of mail sacks packed with catalogs. When those came in during the middle of summer, I felt I fully deserved those nice checks President Reagan sent me every two weeks.

[Fantasywriter]

I love the part about ‘only’ 38 percent going to the poor. Does that include Medicaid? Either way, it is a massive sum. Was there a category for fraud? Scamming the various handout programs is a massive industry in and of itself. Payments to the ‘poor’ enrich an army of lawyers and accountants. SSI alone finances an entire infrastructure of crooked enablers whose sole income derives from qualifying able-bodied people permanently to the rolls of public assistance.

[TnGOP]

Those catalogs now come palletized, and are never hand unloaded. It’s interesting to see the Postal Service struggle to process the mail with less and less people - mostly old people, and little new equipment. I’ll be 50 this year, and am the third youngest in my department. Most of the clerks and mail handlers in my facility are 55+, working 12 hours/day 6 days a week to keep up. Hopefully our new Postmaster will do more to stem the losses and turn this ship around. He has a monumental task ahead, and I wouldn’t bet on success.

[nascarnation]

72 hours a week?
That’s a killer schedule for anybody.
But I’m sure the money is good.

[WOBBLY BOB]

Annual Medicare Fraud: $60 Billion; Annual Profits of Top Ten Insurance Companies: $8 billion

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2375829/posts

[Colonel Kangaroo]

Contrary to what’s often general opinion, the older postal workers who respect their work often times have a difficult job. The stereotypical sullen, lazy window clerk is just the tip of the iceberg. Behind the scenes, there’s a lot people who take the job seriously.

[Fantasywriter]

Those are some very informative statistics. I remember when Obama claimed he would finance his grandiose plans in part by eliminating waste and fraud. Haven’t heard that lately. Most likely he never meant it in the first place; it was just more of his shuckin and jivin okey doke.

The alternative is that he has been advised that his voter base and many of his heavy duty donors are the beneficiaries of the waste and fraud. Can’t throttle the goose that’s laying the golden (Democrat) eggs, now can he?

[Innovative]

“”direct payments to individuals” accounted for more than two-thirds of federal spending in 2010”

“only 38% goes to the poor”

Let’s see — 38% of 66% is 25% of the TOTAL Federal spending — in other words ONE QUARTER of the budget goes “to the poor”.

Just how many “poor” do we have?!

This is what needs to be examined carefully. This is close to $1 TRILLION dollars PER YEAR.

The Federal government’s job is NOT “to support the poor”.

[Roninf5-1]

Its worse than that. Only about 60% of the people currently on Social Security are retired workers meaning 40% never put a dime into the system.

[Monorprise]

I agree the Poor are local and State problems. And in my State it is my hope that the policy to deal with the poor be like that of Benjamin Franklin’s:

“I am for doing good to the poor, but...I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. I observed...that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer.” — Benjamin Franklin

The Federal Government needs to focus on its foreign responsibility. Immigration, fair trade, and defense.

[bvw]

Those payments ALL could be and should be privatized.

[Jack Hammer]

And guess who’s footing the bill for this Marxist Love Fest?

That’s right - you are, Charlie. Kinda tough to pay your bills with Uncle Sugar’s hand in your pocket, ain’t it...