6 numbers that tell you everything you need to know about America’s busted priorities

Americans constantly hear about the threat of “entitlements,” which in the case of Social Security and Medicare are more properly defined as “earned benefits.” The real threat is the array of entitlements demanded by the very rich. The following annual numbers may help to put our country’s expenses and benefits in perspective.

$220 Billion: Teacher Salaries

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics there are just over four million preschool, primary, secondary, and special education school teachers in the U.S., earning an average of $54,740.

$246 Billion: State and Local Pensions

Census data shows a total annual (2012) payout of about $246 billion. Only about $100 billion of this came from state and local governments, with the remainder funded by employee contributions and investment earnings. A recent Pew study showed a little over $100 billion in annual state contributions to pensions, health care, and non-pension benefits.

$398 Billion: Safety Net

The 2013 safety net (non-medical) included the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), WIC (Women, Infants, Children), Child Nutrition, Earned Income Tax Credit, Supplemental Security Income, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Education & Training, and Housing.

$863 Billion: Social Security

Social Security is the major source of income for most of the elderly, and it is an earned benefit. As of 2010, according to the Urban Institute, the average two-earner couple making average wages throughout their lifetimes receive less in Social Security benefits than they paid in.

$2,200 Billion: Tax Avoidance

That’s $2.2 trillion in tax expenditures, tax underpayments, tax havens, and corporate nonpayment. It is estimated that two-thirds of tax breaks accrue to the top quintile of taxpayers.

$5,000 Billion: Investment Wealth

That’s $5 trillion dollars a year, the annual amount gained in U.S. wealth from the end of 2008 to the middle of 2013. Even though the whole country continued to grow in productivity, most of the new wealth went to the very richest people. According to Oxfam, the wealthiest one percent captured 95 percent of post-financial crisis growth since 2009, while the bottom 90 percent became poorer.

Another View: Annual Per Capita Numbers

The following are averages, which are skewed in the case of tax breaks and investment income, as a result of the excessive takings of the .1% and the .01%. Details of the calculations can be found here.

$8,600 for each of the Safety Net recipients

$14,600 for each of the Social Security recipients

$27,333 for each of the Pension recipients

$54,740 for each of the Teachers

$200,000 for each of the Tax Break recipients among the richest 1%

$500,000 for each of the Investment Income recipients among the richest 1%

The super-rich feel they deserve all the tax breaks and the accumulation of wealth from the productivity of others.

This is the true threat of entitlement.

Paul Buchheit

 

The rich got richer while the middle class disappeared and the poor got poorer? This has been pointed out as the likely outcome of socialism for decades. Now there will be government programs to remedy this! LOL

 

Nothing to do with a non existent socialist party in the USA. The US never has had a viable socialist party. The Republican rich just used it as another bogeyman to scare the half-witted.
The politicians like giving the rich more and feed off the crumbs, kick backs etc.
The poor are unorganised and unloved. They can look forward to decades of a decreasing share of the wealth.
Yep - slavery of the economic sort is not far away.
Where did the American dream go ? Down the drain !!

 

Hello dbphoenix:

Paul Buchheit needs to go back to school or buy a dictionary.

Entitlements refers to money or services that were not earned or paid for, but which are owed to the recipient and are paid for by some one else via some government program. Welfare for example, free public schools and health care for illegals, food stamps etc.

Being allowed to keep your own money because of a tax break is not an entitlement. If some one is collecting welfare then some one else is paying for it. In other words the welfare recipient is entitled to getting some one else's money to pay for their welfare. They are not getting a tax break. How can any one confuse the two ? Keep your own money or get some elses' money, because the government says you are entitled to it. Not so hard to see the difference is it. Conflating the two only muddles the discussion.

Whining that rich people like tax breaks or the rich are getting richer or that the “real threat is the array of entitlements demanded by the very rich” does not come close to describing the real problem. Do profitable traders take advantage of tax breaks when filing their income tax ? Is wanting a tax break a threat ?

So if we accept the definition that entitlements are costs that must be paid for by some one else. And tax breaks means that some one keeps more of the money they earned, then where is the threat. The threat is the increasing entitlements or costs and decreasing productivity. You can say tax evasion is a threat. And of course tax evasion is illegal and should be punished. Tax avoidance is not illegal or a threat and is not an entitlement.

Profits accrue to businesses that are best able to provide goods and services. Businesses are attracted to countries that provide favorable business environments, for example low taxes. Businesses provide jobs and increase the wealth of the economy by supplying goods and services that people want.

Since people freely give their money to businesses (aka vote with their dollar) that best serve their interests and businesses strive to best serve their customer then what effect do taxes have. They help pay for the cost of government but in turn reduce the profitability of the business. These profits originate with their customers and so in effect the customers are really paying these taxes. Given that all taxes are ultimately paid for by the people whether directly or indirectly then the goal of a government should be to reduce the cost of government as much as possible and thus lower every ones tax burden. More profitable businesses means more jobs and more goods and service that people want and as a result the country can better afford to pay for the costs of entitlements.

Anubis

 

400 billion a year Military Complex

With anther 200 billion in black budget funds.

This is why you Americans fail so miserably and will implode.

Half of you is working with false data

And the the other half is working with trivial data.

Your clock is ticking America, your sins and your ignorance will catch up with you sooner or later.

 

Hey Anubis, you are shilling on site called ATS Abovetopsecret as well.

You should at least change aliases for different sites.

Think about it this way, lets say that you manage to get ALL OF US, inculding me, to eat out of your hand on EliteTrader site,

How....will that.....change the economic reality and coming crash.

I know, that has never occurred to a drone like you.

 

Hello Ucan'tEatBonds:

Actually that must be another Anubis not me, on ATS Abovetopsecret. I am not on ATS Abovetopsecret. I did a search but couldn't find the shilling link you must be referring too.

That's what I get for not choosing a more original name. Maybe I should change my alias to dbAnubis.

Thanks for letting me know.

dbAnubis