Where are your tax dollars spent?

In this day and age of information overload, I have often wondered how come information about exactly where our federal government spends our money is so difficult to find out.

Not anymore! I have to say, I'm surprised at where one can go to get more information: The White House. When you go to the White House's official website, there is a page where you can enter the 2010 taxes you paid and it will tell you how much of your money was spent in various categories. (You can go there yourself - www.whitehouse.gov/files/taxreceipt/index.html )

See the graphic below for details on a hypothetical couple:

I've taken the liberty of showing you more than the White House ... how much was actually spent and how much of that was NOT your tax dollars collected, but instead borrowed, adding to the total debt.

Also note, Social Security and Medicare are now spending more than is being taken in. Not as much as other parts of federal spending, but now heading in the wrong direction nonetheless.

I had a few thoughts after finding out where our tax dollars go. One was, "How come we spend less on advancing science, space and technology than we do on immigration, law enforcement and our court systems?" (Who thought NASA spent a lot? Apparently not.)

Another question that popped into my head: "Look how big the interest is on our national debt! I wonder how much bigger it will be when interest rates go up?"

Finally, "For all the whining about Social Security being cut, it is still more than we spend on national defense ... and Congress is planning on making major cuts to our national defense spending. What's up with that?"

Did you hear... Living in the past is lots of fun. Besides, it's cheaper.

• Kelly Bullis is a Certified Public Accountant in Carson City. Contact him at 882-4459. On the web at BullisAndCo.com Also on Facebook.