Today is Tax Day — the last day to file and pay your federal income taxes without being late and earning a penalty. Gallup just released a poll that claims an increasing number of Americans think they pay too much in taxes. What do you think?
Perhaps the other question we should be asking is, what are we getting for our money?
The folks at the National Priorities Project put together this handy dandy graphic that breaks down where your tax dollars go.
If you think two cents out of every federal dollar going to fund education isn’t enough, you’re right. And if you think a mere 1.1 cents of every dollar going to fund science isn’t enough — while a whopping 27 cents of every dollar going to fund our military is ridiculous, I would agree with you, too.
And that five cents being paid for “Food & Agriculture?” That includes food stamps, but it also includes humongous subsidies to large corporate food farming giants. And that 1.9 cents on the dollar going to “Energy & the Environment”? That includes billions of dollars in subsidies to oil and gas companies who already make billions upon billions of dollars in profit.
When the GOP rails against the high wages of teachers (and after you stop laughing) you can point to this chart and ask them about all that money we’re spending on our military, and all that money we’re handing over, gift-wrapped, to the oil and gas industry.
Because we’re spending just two cents on the dollar on our children’s future, and that’s not good enough.
Â
Hat tip: UpWorthy