What three things would we all have to agree on?

major bean wrote: Wikipedia is absolutely NOT a reliable source.

But, it's a pie chart and pies are so sweet and delicious! They would never lie!

Then I will go to Wikipedia and alter it a little. Anyone can do it.

major bean wrote: Then I will go to Wikipedia and alter it a little. Anyone can do it.

Don't change the pie! Please!

THAT is why Wikipedia is not a reliable source.

major bean wrote: THAT is why Wikipedia is not a reliable source.

Why do you hate pie? Did somebody hit you in the face with a pie once? Were you a clown in a previous life?

We used to have cowpie fights whenever I was a kid.

Budget of the United States Government: Fiscal Year 2010

The chart is directly from the Excel spreadsheet tables that support the article. The article is directly from the publication of the President's Office of Management and Budget (OMB), if you read the "References and External Links" at the bottom of the page that support the information. (I realize that since it's on Wikipedia, it's probably suspect--but if you actually click on the links it takes you to the gpoaccess.gov website, and I think that's probably a bit more trouble to spoof than the folks at Wikipedia want to bother with.

"Fiscal Year 2010 Budget on GPO Access has been digitally signed and certified. GPO and OMB have collaborated on the transmission of the electronic files. GPO has signed and certified the PDF files in the table below to assure users that the online documents are official and authentic."

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy10/index.html

(You can buy your very own copy for $37.00)

Scruffy wrote: That's not the info I found.

It looks like we spent almost 20% of Social Security, about 19% on the Military, 16% on Unemployment/Welfare/Mandatory Spending, etc. etc. You can see for yourself.

Ahh, thank you for this chart - I was looking for something like this earlier - here's what I found - http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=1258

In 2010, some 20 percent of the budget, or $715 billion, will pay for defense and security-related international activities. The bulk of the spending in this category reflects the underlying costs of the Department of Defense and other security-related activities. The total also includes the cost of supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, which is expected to total $172 billion in 2010.

Social Security: Another 20 percent of the budget, or $708 billion, will pay for Social Security, which provided retirement benefits averaging $1,117 per month to 36 million retired workers (and their eligible dependents) in December 2009. Social Security also provided survivors’ benefits to 6.4 million surviving children and spouses of deceased workers and disability benefits to 9.7 million disabled workers and their eligible dependents in December 2009.

Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP: Three health insurance programs — Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) — will together account for 21 percent of the budget in 2010, or $753 billion. Nearly two-thirds of this amount, or $468 billion, will go to Medicare, which provides health coverage to around 46 million people who are over the age of 65 or have disabilities. The remainder of this category funds Medicaid and CHIP, which in a typical month in 2010 will provide health care or long-term care to about 64 million low-income children, parents, elderly people, and people with disabilities. Both Medicaid and CHIP require matching payments from the states.
Two other categories together account for another fifth of federal spending:

Safety net programs: About 14 percent of the federal budget in 2010, or $482 billion, will support programs that provide aid (other than health insurance or Social Security benefits) to individuals and families facing hardship. These programs include: the refundable portion of the earned-income and child tax credits, which assist low- and moderate-income working families through the tax code; programs that provide cash payments to eligible individuals or households, including Supplemental Security Income for the elderly or disabled poor and unemployment insurance; various forms of in-kind assistance for low-income families and individuals, including food stamps, school meals, low-income housing assistance, child-care assistance, and assistance in meeting home energy bills; and various other programs such as those that aid abused and neglected children.

Interest on the national debt: The federal government must make regular interest payments on the money it has borrowed to finance past deficits — that is, on the national debt, which is projected to reach $9 trillion by the end of fiscal 2010. In 2010, these interest payments (net of some interest income) will claim $209 billion, or about 6 percent of the budget.