Labor Force Participation Rate
<img src="http://data.bls.gov/generated_files/graphics/latest_numbers_LNS11300000_1948_2012_all_period_M06_data.gif">
FY 2013 Discretionary U.S. Federal Budget
http://useconomy.about.com/od/usfederalbudget/p/Discretionary.htm
By Kimberly Amadeo, About.com Guide
What Is Discretionary Spending?:
Discretionary spending is that part of the U.S. Federal Budget that is negotiated between the President and Congress each year as part of the budget process. It includes everything that is not in the mandatory budget, which are programs required by law to provide certain benefits, such as Social Security and Medicare. (See Federal Budget - Mandatory Spending)
What Was Proposed in the FY 2013 Discretionary Budget?:
Discretionary spending in the FY 2013 budget was slashed to $1.264 trillion. The request for military spending was lowered to $851 billion. This includes the Defense Department, Overseas Contingency Operations and other defense-related departments like Homeland Security and the State Department.
The non-security budget request was cut to only $410 billion. All departments were cut or stayed about the same, except for the Department of Education, which increased to $69.8 billion. The largest departments were cut the most:
Health and Human Services, reduced more than 10% to $71.7 billion.
Housing and Urban Development, also reduced 10% to $35.3 billion.
The Justice Department, which was slashed 33% to $17.9 billion.
Spending was cut to reduce the budget by $1.2 trillion. This was mandated by the Congressional deficit reduction committee to end the crisis over raising the debt ceiling that erupted in the summer of 2011.(Source: OMB, FY 2013 Budget, Table S-12)
What Was Approved in the FY 2012 Discretionary Budget?:
In FY 2012, discretionary spending was approved at $1.319 trillion, slightly less than the $1.344 trillion requested in the FY 2012 budget. The security budget was taken down to $868 billion, while non-security spending was reduced to $450 billion. However, it's unclear where the savings came from, since most departments saw their spending levels remain about the same.
What Was Spent in the 2011 Discretionary Budget?:
In FY 2011, discretionary spending was just $1.3 trillion. Non-Security spending came in at $462 billion.
Security spending was at $838 billion. Overseas contingency funds in the amount of $159 billion were allocated for the wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. The budget expanded benefits for 9 million retired military personnel and veterans with disabilities. It allowed for improved care for wounded service members, especially those with mental health needs. Traumatic head injuries had become much more widespread, as improved field medical procedures allowed doctors to save many soldiers who had died from head wounds in previous wars. (Source: Source: OMB,Table S-3; FY 2012 Military Budget)
...and in FY 2010:
Discretionary spending in FY 2010 was $1.306 trillion, or 38% of total spending. More than half ($815 billion) was security spending, which included the Department of Defense, overseas contingency programs and Homeland Security.
Non-security spending was $491 billion. The largest departments were: Health and Human Services ($84.4 billion), Education ($64.3 billion), Housing and Urban Development ($42.8 billion) Justice ($27.6 billion), and Agriculture ($25.1 billion). (Source: OMB, FY 2012 Budget,Table S-11, FY 2010 Actual Spending)
What About the Economic Stimulus Package?:
In FY 2013, the TARP program was budgeted at $12 billion. These expenditures did not go to bail out banks, but instead to bail out homeowners to prevent foreclosures. This was part of the Homeowner Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP. As of FY 2012, spending from the Economic Stimulus Package was moved to Mandatory spending, which is the budget category for spending that is mandated by law. That year, the total cost was $35 billion, which included $12 billion in tax cuts and $12 billion in jobs initiatives. In FY 2011, TARP actually provided a surplus to the budget, as banks paid back the bailout. To understand why, see Bank Bailout Bill.
Although the Economic Stimulus Package was not technically part of the Discretionary Budget, many government agencies benefited from it. In FY 2009, $253 billion was spent through the stimulus package. The agencies which benefited the most were Education ($81 billion), Transportation ($48 billion) and Energy ($37 billion). This spending helped boost the economy to positive economic growth in the second half of calendar year 2010, ending the recession.
Since unemployment was still at a 10% level, the budget included $147 billion in temporary recovery measures for FY 2011. (Source: OMB, FY 2011 budget, Table S-2)
How Did the Discretionary Budget Affect the U.S. Economy?:
Although stimulus spending has been blamed for increasing the budget deficit, in fact military spending has been the largest contributor to deficit spending. This deficit spending, which has been ongoing since 2002 thanks to the War on Terror, created more than a $15 trillion debt.
When the debt to GDP ratio reaches 100%, it can threaten economic growth. It puts downward pressure on the dollar's value, increasing the price of imports. It decreases the expectation that this debt will be paid, acting as a tax and hampering on economic growth. (Article updated February 16, 2012)
