Question

List, define, AND discuss (in your own words) the major categories of federal spending.

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Answer 1

Federal spending can be divided into three general categories: mandatory, discretionary, and interest on the debt

Medicare and Medicaid- The Medicare plan is for the elderly a health benefit. Registered beneficiaries start at age 65 and receive all of their medical treatment provided by public funds. Medicaid is poverty-stricken government health care. Medicare and Medicaid together accounted for almost 22 percent of the federal budget in 2009.

Social Security- Approximately 23 per cent of federal spending went to Social Security benefits in 2009. 19.1 per cent of federal spending is expected to go to social security in the 2011 budget estimated.

Other Spending- The federal government is also investing money in a variety of other regions. Of example , it provides money to the states to finance different services and the unemployed obtain cash benefits. Then there are allocations or "pork" expenses, expenses that favor the citizens of the district of a specific congressman but that have tenuous benefits for the rest of the world, if any. Topics include infrastructure schemes, local business incentives, libraries, flood protection, and economic growth.

Education- About 31 per cent of state spending goes to education. For this 21.1% goes to primary and secondary education and 9.8% goes to higher education

Transportation- About 8.2 percent of government expenditures in fiscal year 2009 went to defense, 3.4 percent went to corrections, and 1.6 percent went to public assistance.