Trillions and Trillions Spent
February 4th, 2008 by Peter SudermanOver the American Spectator, Jim Antle is none too happy with the new budget:
President Bush is sending Congress the first $3 trillion federal budget. This is not many years after proposing the first $2 trillion budget. We passed the $1 trillion mark for the first time back in 1987.
Boy, it’s a good thing we have Republican presidents keeping federal spending under control.
According to Fox News, the new budget runs up the deficit, which had been on the decline, as well. One of the culprits? You guessed it: The $145 billion “stimulus” package, about which I’ve already said a thing or two.
If you’re the kind of person who just can’t look away from a train wreck, FreedomWorks now has an online tool that breaks down the budget into its various parts–what each department gets, and how each department spends their money. For example, here are the stats for the Dept. of Labor, to which the budget dedicates a whopping $53 billion of taxpayer money for its operations this year:
Department of Labor $ 53,131,000,000 Increase over FY 2008 8.2 %
- Bureau of Labor Statistics $ 515,000,000
- Salaries and Expenses $ 515,000,000
- Department of Labor $ -3,640,000,000
- All Other General Fund Proprietary Receipts Including Budget Clearing Accounts $ -28,000,000
- Interest on Investments, Panama Canal Commission $ -6,000,000
- Foreign Labor Certification Processing Fee $ -95,000,000
- Deposits by Federal Agencies to the Federal Employees Compensation Account, Unemployment Trust Fund $ -786,000,000
- CMIA Interest, Unemployment Trust Fund $ -3,000,000
- Interest on Unemployment Insurance Loans to States, Federal Unemployment Account, Unemployment Trust Fund $ -10,000,000
- Miscellaneous Interest, Black Lung Disability Trust Fund $ -2,000,000
- Payment from the General Fund for Prepayment Premium, Black Lung Disability Trust Fund $ -2,710,000,000
- Departmental Management $ 2,858,000,000
- Salaries and Expenses $ 61,000,000
- Emergency Steel, Oil, and Gas Guaranteed Loan Program Account $ -49,000,000
- HCHB Renovation and Modernization $ 7,000,000
- Office of the Inspector General $ 25,000,000
- National Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordination Council $ 1,000,000
- Gifts and Bequests $ 1,000,000
- Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology $ 18,000,000
- Office for Civil Rights $ 37,000,000
- Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund $ 1,396,000,000
- General Departmental Management $ 374,000,000
- Office of the Inspector General $ 76,000,000
- Veterans Employment and Training $ 33,000,000
- Salaries and Expenses $ 263,000,000
- Office of Disability Employment Policy $ 12,000,000
- Working Capital Fund $ 3,000,000
- Office for Civil Rights $ 101,000,000
- Program Administration $ 444,000,000
- Office of the Inspector General $ 55,000,000
- Employee Benefits Security Administration $ 148,000,000
- Salaries and Expenses $ 148,000,000
- Employment and Training Administration $ 49,453,000,000
- Program Administration $ 96,000,000
- Training and Employment Services $ 3,111,000,000
- Training and Employment Services $ 125,000,000
- Community Service Employment for Older Americans $ 350,000,000
- State Unemployment Insurance and Employment Service Operations $ 17,000,000
- Foreign Labor Certification Administration $ 78,000,000
- Foreign Labor Certification Administration $ 13,000,000
- Office of Job Corps $ 1,565,000,000
- Federal Unemployment Benefits and Allowances $ 260,000,000
- Federal Unemployment Benefits and Allowances $ 705,000,000
- Advances to the Unemployment Trust Fund and Other Funds $ 2,710,000,000
- Foreign Labor Certification Processing $ 95,000,000
- Unemployment Trust Fund $ 334,000,000
- Unemployment Trust Fund $ 2,642,000,000
- Unemployment Trust Fund $ 37,352,000,000
- Employment Standards Administration $ 5,434,000,000
- Salaries and Expenses $ 436,000,000
- Salaries and Expenses $ 31,000,000
- Special Benefits for Disabled Coal Miners $ 250,000,000
- Special Benefits $ 3,000,000
- Special Benefits $ 150,000,000
- Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Fund $ 942,000,000
- Administrative Expenses, Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Fund $ 108,000,000
- Panama Canal Commission Compensation Fund $ 6,000,000
- Black Lung Disability Trust Fund $ 3,362,000,000
- Special Workers’ Compensation Expenses $ 2,000,000
- Special Workers’ Compensation Expenses $ 144,000,000
- Mine Safety and Health Administration $ 332,000,000
- Salaries and Expenses $ 332,000,000
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration $ 502,000,000
More cringe-inducing budget breakdown here.
February 4th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
This is the lowest point for any fiscal consertive still out there. And to think that this monster comes from what was supposed to be a “conservative” administration. How sad.
Interesting that Mr Suderman chooses to display the labor item as an example of waste I pressume. But he does not mention, and in fact the little tool in freedomworks also omits it, the US$90 BILLION allowance for the war on terror. That is almost double of the whole labor department budget.
The final question is, where is the administration going to get the money to pay for this ?
It is funny in a very sad tone that at the end of the document Mr Bush assures us that the budget will be balanced by 2012. How will he achieve that ? Perhaps through some magical macroeconomical variables we have not discovered yet? or by crossing the fingers waiting for some economic growth related to tax cuts ? (which have worked sooo well since 2003, no ?)
So sad, I will defer further commenting until I recover my wits.
February 4th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
OK, now let’s see a breakdown of where all the *real* budget money goes…the DOD and it’s various other defense entities.
I also love how the TSP has no negative impact on the budget. They should expand the availablility of this program to all Americans IMO…it would help them save for retirement.
February 10th, 2008 at 4:15 am
Cap W Jr. has a $7.1 Trillion contract to inject these funds into a worthy nation. Bush owes $4.5 trillion to the Queen. Rothschild refused. Bush refused. Colin P. resigned. Cap’s father deceased.
But he declares “They are all crooks”, so he is going to South America and be a Buddist in the jungle. Unfortunately, he is right!
If the log jam doesn’t break in 30 days, I might join him with my 10 sepherot of the Kabbalah. Buddism only has 7 sepherot principles which
were borrowed from the 8 sons of the Biblical prophet Abraham!
We may not be able to see the mushroom cloud on the other side of the
equator, but at least he will have FREEDOM with our worthless dollars!
September 16th, 2008 at 12:53 am
I have been unemployed since Feb. 15, 2008. I am 61 years old & I beleive that this is part of why I can not find work. I have interviewd for several different companies but have yet to recive that all important call that I have been hired. I want to work, I need to work because I have bills that need to be paid. I have applied for all ypes of works even though my background is in engineering. While the Government bails out big companies my questions is will the government help me? Will the goernment bail me out? If I was an illegal would I recieve help? I have served in our military, does that make a difference? I need help and I need it now! Is anyone listening! Hello? I am an American borne citizen. I have paid my taxes. I have done all that I can do. Where is my help when I need it or am I going to be another one of the FORGOTTEN?
James P. Gray
Service Number 775-49-44
US Navy Reserve-Active Duty 1965-1967
P.O. Box 10484
Conway, AR 72034
501 450-7663