Public Administration discussion responses

The fiscal year 2020 federal budget outlines the United States government revenue and spending from October 1st, 2019 through September 30th, 2020. The budget estimation of revenue was $3.706 trillion which was less than the planned spending of $4.79 trillion. This created a $1.083 trillion deficit. The three components of the federal government spending are mandatory, discretionary and interest on debt. The discretionary spending was $1.438 trillion. Defense being the largest component at $633 billion. The mandatory benefits coasted $2.975 trillion. Social Security being the largest benefit component at $1.092 billion. Lastly, interest payments on the national debt will be $376 billion.

More recently federal spending has increased as a result of significant increases in military spending, rising health costs, and a growing number of citizens retiring and collecting Social Security. Federal spending is divided into two large categories; discretionary spending and mandatory spending. Discretionary spending covers some of the federal governments major activities; military, education, transportation, research, food safety and many more things. Each year the Congress and President set spending levels for each individual discretionary program.  Mandatory spending includes Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, and food stamps. There is no specific funding levels for these programs. For example with the current pandemic I could only imagine how much unemployment insurance. has rose. As we did break the highest unemployment rate in the US ever. Federal spending has drastically drifted higher and higher the longer the pandemic went on. 

Looking at the federal budget for the fiscal year 2015, the United States spent $3.8 trillion. That would be $12,000 for every man women and child in the U.S. Breaking down the $3.8 trillion 33% of that went towards Social Security, Unemployment, and Labor, then 27% went towards Medicare and Health. That accounts for a little more than half of the $3.8 trillion.

There are two types of spending: discretionary and mandatory. Discretionary spending takes one-third of the federal spending so in 2015 that was about $1.114 trillion. 54% of that money goes into national defense, in other words, the military. The rest gets distributed between education, veterans benefits, housing, international affairs, environment, science, transportation, agriculture, and government. “The other two-thirds of the federal budget consists of mandatory spending, primarily federal entitlement programs such as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), Medicare, Medicaid, interest on the national debt, and social security” (Rouse, 2016). Social Security, Unemployment, and Labor takes care of 49% of mandatory sending. Medicare and Health take 36% there are a few more that take a very small percentage of the mandatory spending. 

The major expenditures of the budget for the Federal government is Medicaid and Medicare, Defense spending and social security. Also another large part is salaries and benefits within the government. For instance, Senators get paid for life. A cool 175,000 a year for life. The federal government also spends a lot in interest in federal debt. Transportation and education are also on the list of costs for the federal government. 

The two major components of the federal budget is Mandatory and Discretionary spending. Discretionary spending is spending that is subject to the appropriations process, Congress sets a new funding level each fiscal year for programs covered in an appropriations bill. Mandatory spending is spending that does not take place through appropriations legislation. Mandatory spending accounts for about two-thirds of all federal spending. Mandatory spending includes entitlement programs like Social Security, Medicare, and required interest spending on the federal debt.

The major expenditures of the federal government are health insurance such as Medicare and Medicaid, social security, military, education, housing programs, veteran benefits, and much more. Two major components of the budget are discretionary and mandatory. Discretionary spending is subject to the annual appropriations process. Congress sets levels of spending on discretionary programs so they may increase or decrease any programs at any given time. Mandatory spending consists mostly of entitlement programs whose funding is determined by eligibility.