High Spending Research Paper

Overspending is a pertinent problem facing the lawmakers in Congress. In 2012 discretionary spending reached $1.3 trillion and mandatory spending $2 trillion, while only bringing in $2.5 trillion in revenue. Since the turn of the century back in 2000, non-mandatory spending by the government has topped out a whopping $16.1 trillion just in the past 13 years (Boccia, Frasser & Goff 2013). This persistent overspending on programs and services that are not necessary to the functionality of the country is what is causing the deficit to rise year after year. To remedy this issue the government must either increase the revenue it brings in through taxes and trade or reduce the amount of money it spend or perhaps even both. In 2012 thirty-one cents of every dollar that Washington spent was borrowed (Boccia, Frasser & Goff 2013). Most of which went to large programs such as Social Security and Medicare and if these large, growing programs, or just the budget in general, do not undergo financial reform it could spell disaster for the economy and fiscal state of the nation.

Furthermore, the United States spends nearly double the average $3,923 for the 15 countries ("Health Care Cost," 2011).” Accordingly the U.S. throws away more money than any other country on healthcare which consequently could jeopardize the medical attention that is being provided.

This creates a budget deficit because there is more being spent than what’s being brought it.

Council Bill 20-409 establishes adequacy by addressing the social concern of marijuana possession in small amounts for personal use. Prior to the bill, individuals were charged with a criminal offense which remains on their permanent record. Having said violation on a permanent record potentially has negative effects on employment status and housing options. The bill, which decriminalizes small amounts of marijuana now provides for individuals caught in possession the opportunity for a self-sufficient life.

Deficit spending is often applied in a political context. However, it can be applied in

The United Stated government only spends about 5,2% of their GDP(global domestic product) for educational purposes, and in money, that is equivalent to $898.5 million out of the $17.97 trillion that they make. (CIA Factbook) Because of this shortage of funding, many schools, especially public schools in Chicago, are forced to work with less money, and don’t allow them to be able to create extracurricular programs for the students, make renovations in the school, or do other things of that nature. The total CPS budget is $5.69 billion, but they are facing a shortfall of one billion dollars.(Bradley) That is about 18% of CPS’ total budget that is being taken away from them. This shows how big a problem these cuts actually are and how much it affects the schools and the community. One of the areas of the country’s budget that could be spent less on is military. The United States’ total discretionary spending, which is the government spending implemented through an appropriations bill and are usually necessities, is around $1.11 trillion in 2015. The military expenditure 53.71% of the total discretionary spending, which is $598.49 billion, while the government only spends 6.28% on education, which is $69.98 billion.(nationalpriorities.org) That is a $528.51 billion difference! Does the United States actually have to spend that much on their military? The United States is the country that spends the most on its military, at about $1.56 trillion

The United States spends far more than any other country on defense and security with no end in sight to their expenditures. The total military spending by the United States is nearly equal to the combined military spending of every other nation combined. This unreasonable amount of spending hinders the capacity to provide basic needs, as well as eliminating money that can be used to resolve other domestic issues, while at the same time allowing for short-term economic prosperity and increasing our national defense capacity.

Friedman, Uri. “$300,000 an Hour: The Cost of Fighting ISIS”. The Atlantic, The Atlantic. 12

The historical federal spending of the government has already done significant damage to America; spending habits have increased the federal budget deficit at alarming rates adding $2.7 trillion to the national debt in two years, $1.4 trillion in the 2009 fiscal year and $1.3 trillion in 2010. (Montgomery)   These deficits are largely caused by increases in spending rates. The current Obama Administration has used the recession in their favor to expand both the government and spending.

National debt is necessary for the funding of federal programs. Government spending is not only a focus of the United State’s political system, but it affects one’s personal choices and lifestyle. There is a concern with where and why money is spent. A key aspect of government spending is allocated to education. Education is fundamental in how one benefits society and the economy. The United States education program is not only necessary for the success of the country, but it is in need of a more efficient system with increased funding.

In the current state of the American economy, needless spending is something the government needs to avoid at all costs. With some trillion dollars owed to various foreign countries, the United States literally cannot afford to pump money into programs that do not benefit the country as a whole. Michael Tanner, who is the Director of Health and Welfare studies at the Cato Institute, reports that this year the Federal government will spend 952,000,000,000 dollars on programs to help the poor (10). While some of this money goes to people who truly need it, there are many people that take advantage of the kindness of others. Robert Rector, who is the Senior

In our reading "Choices are Everywhere: Why can't we just have it all?" from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis we learned that social security, national defense and healthcare programs are the top government spending categories (2013). While I believe all three are good places, I also feel like that 528.4 million dollars could have gone to our education system (not all but definitely some). According to usgovernmentspending.com the United States, in 2014, spend $1,283,079.6 million on healthcare (this includes local, state, and federal) while $962,948.4 million went to education (Total 2014 Government Spending). That is a $320,131.2 difference between total healthcare and education funding. I believe that is the opportunity cost; some of the money that went to PP that could have gone to education.

One of the issues that is widely discussed and debated concerning the United States economy is the healthcare system. Unlike in the majority of developed and developing countries, the healthcare system in the United States is not public, meaning that the state does not provide free or cheap healthcare services. This paper addresses many of the factors contributing to the rising cost of healthcare.

This was also hurting our global effectiveness. Over the years the United States had and currently still is spending more than any other country on healthcare as far as capita basis and percent of Gross Domestic Product (Longest, B. B. 2016). With about 18% of United States GDP spent on health care expenses this left less to be spent on education, housing and community, transportation, food and agriculture, energy and environment, science, and other infrastructures (Potter, W. 2014). This caused the United States to fall behind other countries that could spend more money on other areas than healthcare to gain a global competitive advantage. As if to add insult to injury the United States was also 34th in life expectancy despite having the highest healthcare cost worldwide. People were as good as job locked due to fear of losing affordable health insurance. Insurance companies could also refuse coverage due to pre-existing condition.

“The United States spent $598.5 billion dollars alone on the military in 2015. That is 54% of all spending in 2015. The US only spent $70 billion (6%) on education and $13.1 billion (1%) on food and agriculture.” (“Military Spending”). This shows what Americans really value.