Charts of Federal Taxes, Spending Available Online

How much of your money does the U.S. government plan to spend -- and for what? Do we really lay out less for defense, despite the war on terrorism, than in the 1970s and '80s? How high would your taxes have to go to pay for benefits promised to retiring baby boomers?

Answers to these questions, along with other tax and budget trends important to ordinary Americans are depicted in the 41 information graphics making up the 2008 Federal Revenue and Spending Book of Charts, an online resource from The Heritage Foundation.


According to a release from the Heritage Foundation, evised charts in the 2008 edition show that:

• Spending on defense remains well below the historical average, even with the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Congress larded on a whopping 11,737 earmarks for 2008 despite promising to cut the number of pet spending projects in half.
• The top 10 percent of income earners pay 70 percent of all federal income taxes.