A/HRC/27/51 Annex IX Allocation of income tax dollars 2013 (United States of America) “[…] This imbalanced spending has consequences: cuts in programs that help give people ladders out of poverty, as well as missed opportunities to prevent war and address climate change. The Pentagon budget still accounts for 40 cents of every tax dollar the U.S. Government spends.” Friends Committee on National Legislation explanation of USA Government spending: (a) “For current and past wars: 40% This includes the Pentagon budget and related programs with a military function, such as nuclear weapons production in the department of energy, and foreign military assistance (28%); interest on the federal debt accumulated from past Pentagon spending (7%); and care and benefits for veterans plus other costs and obligations from past wars (5%). (b) For general government operations: 11% This includes interest on the rest of the federal debt – the part that is not attributable to past military spending (10%) – and other government operations such as Congress, the judiciary, most of the department of homeland security, the IRS, treasury, etc. (1%) (c) For health care, health care financing and health research: 23% This includes Medicaid, public health programs, Indian health, the national institutes of health and the centers for disease control. (Most of the money for Medicare comes from a dedicated payroll tax, not from income taxes, so the Medicare trust fund, with its separate income, is not considered part of the “federal funds budget” and is not included here.) 39