Government Finance
How much do you know about government spending? Where does the government receive its money from and how does it decide on the amount it gives to important areas such as health, education, defense and social security? This section about government finance deals with the way in which a government receives money and allocates it for spending on public services.
The answer to where a government receives its income from is simple – from you! As a tax-payer, the tax you pay on your income goes directly to the federal government to be spent on a range of services. Commercial or company tax also makes up a large percentage of federal revenues. At a state level, you are contributing to funds every time you purchase local goods and services. The sales tax you pay goes directly to your local government.
Given that you are helping to contribute to your government's revenues, it is worthwhile understanding how these revenues are used to help society operate. The first thing you need to do is to understand how a government allocates its funds. This is set out in the budget which Congress must agree upon and pass before it becomes a legal document supported by law. The contents of the budget can be affected by a wide range of issues, which you can study in the following sections.
Do you know which areas the government spends its money on? The most obvious are defense, health and social security. But how does the government weigh up its considerations to allocate money for each area and which factors determine the amounts? Who decides if defense receives more money than government sponsored healthcare schemes? The following sections will answer these questions and more. And by understanding how your government spends its money, you will be able to see how your contribution no matter how small has an effect on the way your country operates.
For more infomation on government finance choose from the list below. |
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Banking - Business Finances - Economics - Insurance - Investing
Major Purchases - Personal Finances - Stock Market - Taxes
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