Defense + Veterans + Homeland Security + Nuclear Weapons/Fuel 10/09 = $91 billion
Medicare + Medicaid 10/09 = $86 billion
Social Security + Disability 10/09 = $65 billion
Interest on Public Debt 10/09 = $18 billion
The defense budget numbers are entirely driven by troop/sailor levels. Manpower + O&M is $50 billion alone, while Veterans + Defense Civil of another $17 billion is ongoing legacy costs of force levels.
Forward deployment overseas is the most expensive group of troops because of logistics costs.
Medicare/Social Security are entirely paid for by the FICA tax for the forseeable future, therefore they are not the cause of the deficit/income tax/corporate tax problems we face, although the spending levels they have are an abomination.
Welfare + Unemployment + Education + Energy + Foreign Aid + Agirculture Subsidies + Food Stamps + EPA in 10/09 = $43 billion
Bad as these are, they aren’t the locus of the problem.
Income Taxes (personal + corporate) = $57 billion
Deficit = -$176 billion
History is clear: deficits occur with higher taxes, and with lower taxes. Politicians spend, regardless. But prosperity ONLY occurs with lower taxes.