You will see modest variations in this from different sources, but this is the gist of it. About 2/3 of it goes to older adults/ retirees, disabled and low income people, and interest on debt (the fastest growing component of the budget).

The final 2026 US budget is out…

One of the great political moves by the left in recent years has been convincing a large portion of America that we don’t already spend the vast majority of our money on healthcare and entitlement programs. pic.twitter.com/LLNowVv9nV

— Geiger Capital (@Geiger_Capital) October 23, 2026

GrowlTowel said:

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Chart needs to include both fraud and the baked-in fraud to be accurate.

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Only if you assume the fraud is disproportionately weighted to some category, and even then it would have to be extreme.

"Mandatory spending" plus interest accounts for probably 3/4 of the budget.

Bottom line is most of the things we talk about don't move the needle much.

If you want to actually decrease the tax burden, you have to take a whack at the sacred cows. The discretionary spending is lipstick on a pig.

Means testing Social Security and Medicare should be a no-brainer.

But mainly, I'm providing this as reality check. Some of the stuff we see on this board is so financially illiterate it is painful. (Eg " if we stop spending all our money on _____, I could get free healthcare/college.")

Nothing is free, and most of the huge amount of tax dollars that we pay are already accounted for in one of these social programs. The only way to give away more stuff is to take even more tax dollars.

GrowlTowel said:

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Chart needs to include both fraud and the baked-in fraud to be accurate.

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It's the purple one (13.0%).

Federal debt hits 100% of GDP

https://www.wsj.com/economy/federal-debt-hits-100-of-gdp-585d3cb0

" The outlook is rough. Social Security is projected to reach insolvency in 2032, triggering automatic benefit cuts unless Congress acts. Net interest costs, the most immovable object in the budget, are projected to climb by more than 1% of GDP over the next decade, according to CBO.

And that forecast from earlier this year assumes interest rates well below today's prevailing rates. If all interest rates are 0.1 percentage point above CBO's forecast, that adds $379 billion in interest costs over a decade."

Robert Wilson said:

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GrowlTowel said:

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Chart needs to include both fraud and the baked-in fraud to be accurate.

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Only if you assume the fraud is disproportionately weighted to some category, and even then it would have to be extreme.

"Mandatory spending" plus interest accounts for probably 3/4 of the budget.

Bottom line is most of the things we talk about don't move the needle much.

If you want to actually decrease the tax burden, you have to take a whack at the sacred cows. The discretionary spending is lipstick on a pig.

Means testing Social Security and Medicare should be a no-brainer.

But mainly, I'm providing this as reality check. Some of the stuff we see on this board is so financially illiterate it is painful. (Eg " if we stop spending all our money on _____, I could get free healthcare/college.")

Nothing is free, and most of the huge amount of tax dollars that we pay are already accounted for in one of these social programs. The only way to give away more stuff is to take even more tax dollars.

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Cutting all discretionary spending is a no brainer bcs its in the name... discretionary, as in a luxury expense that isnt essential.

Robert Wilson said:

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One reason young people want socialism so much is that they're jealous that older people have it and they don't. pic.twitter.com/CHRCZQ5xQG

— Bill Maher (@billmaher) October 24, 2026

Maher is spot on here

I'm hard on whiners like our resident chuds, but we do have a ridiculous social state for old people - the money is headed in the wrong direction.

The answer is not to extend that socialized state to everyone - the answer is to means test social security and Medicare and lower the tax burden for people who are out there making money.

Do you want to make it easier for young working people to climb the ladder, buy a house, etc? Stop taking their money and giving it to old people that don't need it.

For example, I should never get Social Security. But under the current system, they will take money from young workers and give it to me one day when I am old and rich. That is completely stupid.

If any politician had the balls to come out with that, I would actually get inspired and donate to him or her.

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Agree with all this.

We have to cut everything... or default and watch the country balkanize.

The national debt is the greatest national security threat to this country so your head is in the right place!

This post is Chud approved!