Where Do Income Tax Dollars Go
Opening up an envelope on the first of the month to reveal ones monthly pay is a surprise in itself. After arriving down at the bottom of the pay stub it seems that half of the paycheck goes to the government. Where does the money go? Where do income tax dollars go? On that pay stub there are three places ones tax dollars go to and they are social security, healthcare, and defense spending. The first line that appears on a pay stub is social security tax. Where does ones money go when it is sent to social security? What is social security? Social Security is a program not based upon the needs of the participants but rather how much and how long the participants pay into the system. Eligibility for benefits upon retirement includes a few factors: age, and length of employment. Established in 1935 the Social Security Act was formulated due to the Great Depression. President Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted the government to assist the elderly during their retirement years. So does a person have to pay social security tax? The answer is yes! The only way that one may opt out of paying social security is to be self employed. The second line that appears on the monthly pay stub is healthcare tax. Even if a person may not have health insurance the government still requires the tax to be paid. The healthcare tax goes to pay medicare which provides health coverage for people over 65 and low income families, and individuals that cannot afford health coverage. Like the social security tax, medicare tax must be paid by an employer and the only way to opt out is to be self employed. Finally, the last tax that may appear on the pay stub is the defense spending tax. The defense spending tax pays for salaries for our troops, research, development, testing, and evaluations done by the United States military. In a way these tax dollars are going to the United States military to keep Americans as safe as possible. So if a person isn’t benefiting...