Fiscal policy

Fiscal policy refers to the national government's plan for revenue and expenditures that aims to enhance the general welfare of citizens and residents of the United States.
Revenue: Total amount of money collected by the government.
Expenditures: Amount of money spent by the government.

Constitution Article One, Section Nine:
- Statement and accounts clause mandates a regular statement of public money receipts and expenditures.
1921 Budget and Accounting Act:
- Clarified the statement and accountability process for public funds.
- Required the President to propose an annual federal budget.
- Established the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as an executive branch agency involved in budget preparations.
- Established the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to audit expenditures and ensure fiscal responsibility.

Balanced Budget:
- Occurs when total expenditures equal total tax revenues.
Surplus Budget:
- Occurs when tax revenues exceed expenditures.
- Results in savings for the government.
Deficit Budget:
- Occurs when expenditures surpass revenues.
- Considered problematic as it indicates overspending by the government.

Sources of Revenue:
- Personal Income Tax (Wages, Salaries, Individual profits): $2,200,000,000,000
- Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA) (Social Security and Medicare taxes): $1,600,000,000,000
- Corporate Income Tax (Taxes on business profits): $420,000,000,000
- Other Taxes (Excise taxes, trade taxes): $229,000,000,000
Total Revenue: $4,449,000,000,000

Constitution Article One, Section Nine:
- No money shall be drawn from the treasury except per appropriations made by law.
Expenditure History:
- 1933: $30 per person expenditure on public welfare.
- Last Year: $18,400 per person expenditure on public welfare.
Major Expenditure Categories:
- Social Security: $1,300,000,000,000
- Veteran Health Care, Education, Transportation, and Welfare for the Poor: $917,000,000,000
- Medicare: $839,000,000,000
- Defense: $805,000,000,000
- Interest on Debt: $659,000,000,000
- Medicaid: $616,000,000,000
- Federal Civilian and Military Retirement Plans: $502,000,000,000
- Unemployment Insurance: $448,000,000,000
Total Expenditure: $6,086,000,000,000

Current Defense Budget: $805,000,000,000
Cost Drivers:
- Desire for state-of-the-art weapons and protective gear.
- Rapid developments in military technology create unpredictable costs.

Purpose: Provide supplemental income for retirees.
Enrollees: 70,000,000 or 20% of the population.
Average Expenditure: $1,547 per month or $18,571 per year per enrollee.
Financial Strain: Incrementally increasing lifespans lead retired persons to outlive their contributions, requiring current workers to support retirees.
Total Social Security Expenditure: $1,300,000,000,000.

Purpose: Provide basic living standards for the poor, financed by taxes.
Enrollees: 65,000,000 or 19.6% of the population.
Average Welfare Payment: $1,410 per month or $16,920 per year.
Total Welfare Expenditure: $917,000,000,000.
Welfare Fraud Issues:
- Non-disclosure of personal assets, familial deception, claims for fictitious children, and duplicate benefits.

Purpose: Government medical insurance for older and disabled persons.
Enrollees: 66,000,000 or 20% of the population.
Average Expenditure: $1,059 per month or $12,712 per year.
Total Medicare Expenditure: $839,000,000,000.
Comparison with Private Insurance: Private insurers negotiate costs, leading to potentially lower costs for taxpayers.
Cost Due to Lack of Negotiation: If negotiated, potential savings of $361,000,000,000, resulting in an excess cost of $478,000,000,000 for taxpayers.

Purpose: Medical insurance for low-income adults and children.
Enrollees: 76,000,000 or 23% of the population.
Average Expenditure: $675 per month or $8,105 per year.
Total Medicaid Expenditure: $616,000,000,000.
Potential Negotiation Savings: Would yield a reduction to $415,000,000,000, resulting in a taxpayer excess cost of $200,000,000,000.

Fraud Types:
- Patient Fraud: False information for unauthorized medical care, unnecessary procedures.
- Provider Fraud: Incorrect billing practices and falsified services.
Total Increase in Costs due to Mismanagement: Approximately $678,000,000,000.

Cost to taxpayers due to unregulated immigration: $151,000,000,000 yearly.
Social Security payments to unregulated immigrants since 2015: $397,000,000,000.
General Insight: Unregulated immigration poses a financial burden on the national budget.

Estimated waste of approximately $900,000,000,000 in taxpayer money annually due to inefficiencies.
Examples of wasteful spending includes funds allocated to studies and projects without clear benefits.

Current Deficit: $1,600,000,000,000.
Identified Savings Potential by Addressing Key Issues: Over $1,700,000,000,000.
Target Areas: Eliminate waste, negotiate medical costs, and address immigration concerns.
Recommendations for Debt Financing:
- Spend less than revenue to run a surplus.
- Raise taxes carefully, understanding potential economic impacts.
- Current reliance on borrowing, via treasury bills and bonds, is unsustainable.

Congress's inaction leads to a persistent debt crisis.
Consequences of increasing debt include:
- Slowed economic growth and higher unemployment.
- Inflation leading to higher consumer prices.
- Encouraging decreased incentives for work and savings.
- Potential failure of Social Security and Medicare systems, impacting retirees.
Each citizen's share of the national debt exceeds $103,000, placing a significant burden on the populace.

Noteworthy expenditures include:
- Studies without practical utility, extravagant costs for minor improvements, and ineffective funding allocation resulting in dead expenditures.
Resultant reflections on government accountability concerning taxpayer money.