National Priorities Project's Trade Offs Tool Shows the Magnitude of Federal Budget Spending

Proposed spending for FY2011 programs include:

Atomic Energy Defense Activities

Climate Investment Funds

Energy Conservation

Federal Air Marshals

Food and Nutrition Assistance

Iraq and Afghanistan total war spending

National Endowment for the Arts

Net Interest

Unemployment Compensation

For example, in FY2011, Mississippi taxpayers are slated to contribute
$414.3 million of their federal taxes to support Unemployment Insurance,
$663.4 million to the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, $975.5 million
to pay net interest on the national debt and $5.1 million toward
federal spending on Energy Conservation.

"Our nation's budget is a blueprint for our collective spending
priorities. Every dollar spent by the federal government has a localized
impact both in terms of taxes paid and services provided. Our Trade
Offs Tool shows alternative spending options such as the cost of
scholarships or renewable electricity or low-income healthcare to help
people grapple both with the meaning and the magnitude of federal
spending," notes Barb Chalfonte, NPP's Research Director.

In addition to its Trade Offs Tool, NPP offers other web-based and
print tools, publications and trainings to help people better understand
their relationship to the federal budget. In addition to the Trade Offs
Tool, check out:

FY2001 analysis of the President's budget:
NPP's analysis of the FY2011 federal budget spans FY2008 to projected
FY2012. The publication also offers state-level spending programs for
health, education and energy.

Tax Day 2010:
NPP issued its annual spending breakout of a federal tax dollar based
on the same budget categories found in our President's budget analysis.
The accompanying web-based Interactive Tax Chart allows individuals to see how their income taxes are distributed across budget spending categories.

Federal Priorities Database:
Our one-of-a-kind database contains state and local data for federal
spending programs with associated budget category indicators. Categories
include: health, education, energy, hunger, housing, labor, income
& poverty and military. The database allows users to determine
localized federal spending trends, as well as the potential impact of
that spending.

Federal Budget 101 charts and briefs:
NPP offers briefs on topics such as the federal budget time line, the
difference between discretionary and mandatory spending, and the role of
federal funds and trust funds in the budget. We also offer several
historical charts of budget related information on the discretionary
budget, total outlays, revenues, and deficits and debt.

Federal Budget 101 webinar:
This 30-minute presentation is for people interested in learning about
the federal budget process and how to become involved in shaping it. By
the close of the webinar, participants will have a solid introductory
understanding both of the role of the federal government as well as the
federal budget process and its timetable. Register for a webinar at a
date and time that works for you!