Fiscal Policy

Ever since in class we have been learning about fiscal policy, it got me thinking of how messed up the budget was, that the deficit would only get bigger and bigger. But, in the news relatively the United States has been getting better financially being the expansion part of the cycle. It seems that the only way public outlook will get better is if there are massive reforms to the budget, mainly on military spending and discretionary spending. I still don't get the reasoning on why military spending is as large as it is, consisting of around 528 billion. This could be used for more important things such as education or the research department of the budget having less then 1 percent of what the budget consists of. It just seems that the money is going to all the wrong places.

Prisons

In my Expo Comp class, we were recently talking about how expensive it was to keep a single prisoner in Illinois comfortable for their incarceration while in jail. It costs around 20,000 dollars to keep a single prisoner well fed and "comfortable". In 2009 taxpayers spent more then 1 billion dollars on state prisons, a cost that is too great to be ignored. The crime rates have reduced over the years but there are still those that are in prison. The prison system costs taxpayers a lot of money annually and there needs to be some reform to this system. Along with some reforms among school lunch programs primarily those in inner city schools. It seems now more then ever significant sacrifices have to be made in order to adjust the federal budget, with almost no resources being focused on education but rather more on military.

Taxes

Everyone who has job knows and hates taxes with a passion, myself included. I just hate seeing my paycheck with nearly half the income of what I was supposed to receive, and just feel a little bit angry. It is just the fact that I see the words federal income tax, social security, medicare etc, and notice all the deductions and what would eventually become my net income. Maybe it would lessen the blow if it was hidden in my eyes, but open to my manager. I've always known taxes were important for the federal government, local government, and for the welfare of others. It just seems I want to know what the government specifically does with my taxes such as several corporate bailouts of several corporations that happened nearing the recession of 2008. Overall, taxes can take half my paycheck, but hey it happens to everyone.