Before I get started, I just want to be very up front. I know this is an incredibly simplistic means of budgeting and I know it does not jive with any of the current accounting techniques employed by the government...but those don't work, so let's give me a chance here.
I like to call my idea the Piece-O-Pie budget. The idea is very simple. Assign each area a percentage of the inlays and as the tax revenues arrive every month each department gets their share. Using 2010's budget, it might look something like this:
Medicare: 23%
Social Security: 20%
Defense: 20%
Discretionary: 19%
Other: 12%
Interest: 6%
That would have netted each area ($ billions)
Medicare: 497.26
Social Security 432.40
Defense: 432.40
Discretionary: 410.78
Other: 259.44
Interest: 129.72
Mind you, I used 2010 percentages rather than what I would prefer. For starters, I would have increased the interest and national debt to 10% and cut some of the "Other", Defense, Social Security and Medicare spending. But that's the beauty of this system, it opens the door for real debate about what is important and what is not.
I like to call my idea the Piece-O-Pie budget. The idea is very simple. Assign each area a percentage of the inlays and as the tax revenues arrive every month each department gets their share. Using 2010's budget, it might look something like this:
Medicare: 23%
Social Security: 20%
Defense: 20%
Discretionary: 19%
Other: 12%
Interest: 6%
That would have netted each area ($ billions)
Medicare: 497.26
Social Security 432.40
Defense: 432.40
Discretionary: 410.78
Other: 259.44
Interest: 129.72
Mind you, I used 2010 percentages rather than what I would prefer. For starters, I would have increased the interest and national debt to 10% and cut some of the "Other", Defense, Social Security and Medicare spending. But that's the beauty of this system, it opens the door for real debate about what is important and what is not.