"A Guy Walks Into a Bar..."
U.S. Government "Services" Activity
Ok...this activity doesn't start out with a joke (..."A guy walks into a bar..."), but the idea is the same: American citizens walk into the Government services office...and what happens? That's what we'll be examining today!
We've spent most our time examining the pie chart on the left: "Mandatory Spending". Those "pie slices" are things the U.S. Government has to spend money on - Social Security, Medicare and Health, etc., etc. But, after those expenditures are tallied, we shift focus to "Discretionary Spending" - things the U.S. Government funds differently every year, based on the decisions of the leaders and the needs of the people. Think of it this way: Every month, your family has to spend money on your house / apartment, food, various bills, etc. But, then you make choices for how much to spend on things like clothing, entertainment, certain bills that came up for one month, etc. There are the "have to's", and then the "need to's"; think of the Discretionary Spending amounts as "very important", but only after the other stuff has been paid for...
So, in the Discretionary Spending areas, we see that most of the money is spent on national defense, and the rest is spent on things like education, social security, veterans benefits, etc. We'll talk about the "spending on education" later, but for now, we'll focus on the services of:
So, start out this way: Simply choose one government services that interests you. Do you want to learn more about:
So, in the Discretionary Spending areas, we see that most of the money is spent on national defense, and the rest is spent on things like education, social security, veterans benefits, etc. We'll talk about the "spending on education" later, but for now, we'll focus on the services of:
- Social Security Insurance (for the “non-elderly”…), called “Supplementary Security Income (SSI)
- Disability Insurance
- Veterans Benefits
So, start out this way: Simply choose one government services that interests you. Do you want to learn more about:
- Social Security Insurance (for the “non-elderly”…), called “Supplementary Security Income (SSI)? These services are provided to people that have a sickness, illness, are significantly poor, or have fallen on other "hard times" that makes life very difficult.
- Disability Insurance? These services are provided to people who are either hurt on the job, have suffered an injury elsewhere, or are born with a disability (or have children with a disability) that makes life more difficult.
- Veterans Benefits? Every year, the federal government provides education, job training, home buying services, and health insurance to veterans of our armed services. It's a way of saying "thank you", but also a way of taking care of those hurt in the line of duty.
