Federal Spending Not Reflective of 'Family Values'

None by Lara Jones

Do You Know Where Your Federal Tax Dollars Go?

(KCPW News) For every dollar Utahns pay in federal taxes, how is that money spent and does it dovetail with the state's reputation for putting family values first? Not according to Voices for Utah Children:

"The biggest chunk of it - 27 cents out of every dollar - goes to the military," according to Sarah Wilhelm, fiscal analysis director for the non-profit child advocacy organization. "The next chunk goes to health programs - 21 cents on every dollar - and that's Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program; and about four cents out of that 21 cents actually goes to children."

The most troubling aspect of how federal tax dollars are spent deals with debt, Wilhelm says, noting 20 percent of every dollar sent to Washington goes toward the nation's debt service. In the end, Wilhelm questions the priorities such data reveals:

"If you add up all the dollars that the federal government spends on children, at most it's 20 cents on every dollar, compared to 19 cents on interest on debt, 27 cents on the military. We think that maybe these are the wrong priorities."

Wilhelm and Terry Haven, Kids Count, Director for Voices for Utah Children, speak at length about taxes and their impact on children in a podcast of today's Midday Metro.

Email to a friendPosted in KCPW Newsroom. Copyright 2008 KCPW