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The Decline of America: Military Industrial Complex (MIC) at Work


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      W h e r e   D o   Y o u r   T a x - D o l l a r s   G o ?
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The following is taken from the February/march newsletter of the
Friends Committee on National Legislation, a Quaker lobbying group.

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                T H E   F E D E R A L   B U D G E T :
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On Monday, February 4, President Bush released his proposal for the
Fiscal Year 1992 federal budget.  This budget -- or whatever version
of it that Congress agrees on -- will go into effect on October 1,
1991.  The President has requested the highest level of military
spending that he is allowed to request under the budget agreement
passed last year.  By FCNL's analysis, the budget includes $294
billion in military budget authority.  This amount is billions of
dollars higher than the average annual military budget in ALL the cold
war years.

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                         W A R   T A X E S :
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FCNL has completed its annual analysis of the percentage of income
taxes that support the military budget and related items.  We
calculate that 31.2% of Fiscal Year 1990 federal funds went for
current military programs.  In addition, 18.9% went for expenses that
were incurred because of past wars, including veterans' benefits and
interest on a portion of the federal debt.  For detailed information
on this calculation, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to FCNL
and request document number G-111.

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  SPENDING PRIORITIES IN THE ADMINISTRATION PROPOSED FEDERAL BUDGET
   for fiscal year '92 (October 1, 1991 through September 30, 1992)
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                                                 FY92         % of
                                               Proposed     Federal
                                                 Funds
                                           (in $ millions)

CURRENT MILITARY SPENDING                     294,399.151    25.8%

TOTAL COST OF PAST WARS                       209,411.387    18.3%

NON-MILITARY RELATED INTEREST                 126,759.029    11.1%

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS                        30,314.077     2.6%

ANTI-POVERTY PROGRAMS                         175,073.163    15.3%

SOCIAL PROGRAMS                                84,721.612     7.4%

COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT             62,474.224     5.5%

SCIENCE AND THE ENVIRONMENT                    36,100.454     3.2%

FED. EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT & BENEFIT             43,866.042     3.8%

MISCELLANEOUS GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS              85,069.702
less unallocated receipts:                        -85.000
                                               -2,687.000
Pmt. to soc. sec. (off budget)                 -1,190.731
Gov't. programs, net                           81,106.971     7.1%

BUDGET TOTALS                               1,144,602.462   100.0%
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Notes:
Total, military-related                       504,186.890    44.1%
Military-related interest(1)                  177,219.458    15.5%
Total Interest:                               303,978.487    26.6%

(1) Military-Related Interest: We calculate that 58.3% of the interest
paid on the federal debt is due to debts that were incurred to pay for
wars.


What's in these categories?  Spending categories are not exactly the
same as those that appear as "functions" in President Bush's budget.
For example, the president doesn't include foreign military assistance
as a military expenditure; FCNL does.

FCNL also draws out a separate category of programs that are
specifically designed to assist low-income people, distinguishing
these programs from other development and social programs that are
intended to benefit society in general.

For an itemized list of all the programs included in each category,
request FCNL Document G-113 (8 pages).

In 1972, the Joint Congressional Economic Committee estimated the
national debt as 75% war-created due to World War II and the Korean
and Indochina wars.

In 1977, FCNL recalculated the percentage of the debt attributed to
military- related spending.  It was then two-thirds.  In February
1989, we recalculated the amount, based on the recent large deficit
years when military-related spending has run about half the federal
funds budget, and found it to be 58.3%.  Based on this calculation,
more than 2.3 trillion dollars of the 4 trillion dollar federal debt
is war-related.

Friends Committee on National Legislation
245 Second Street, NE., Washington, DC 20002
(202) 547-6000 FAX (202) 547-6019

For a copy of the February/March Newsletter send your request with a
self-addressed stamped envelope.