U.S. Disability Program Costs vs Military Spending

Author: Thomas C. Weiss
Published: 2011/04/07 - Updated: 2026/02/20
Publication Type: Opinion Piece, Editorial
Category Topic: Political - Related Publications

Contents: Synopsis - Introduction - Main - Insights, Updates

Synopsis: This editorial, written by Thomas C. Weiss - a researcher holding a Masters degree and multiple additional degrees with a background in Disability Studies and direct caregiving experience - presents a pointed comparison between what the United States spends on social safety net programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security versus what it spends on military operations and loses through corporate tax avoidance. Published during the height of the U.S. budget debates, the piece uses publicly available financial data from 2011 to argue that proposed cuts to programs serving people with disabilities, seniors, disabled veterans, and children are difficult to justify when military costs and corporate tax loopholes far exceed the cost of domestic trust funds. The information remains relevant to anyone concerned with disability rights, public policy, and how federal budget priorities directly affect the lives of vulnerable populations - Disabled World (DW).

Introduction

The Costs of Programs We Use as People with Disabilities

The budget debate in America is going nowhere fast, with the President accusing both Democrats and Republicans of behaving in a less-than-adult manner in their approach to passing a budget.

The American People are divided in whom they should believe - and quite understandably so. To be very plain-spoken, programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are certainly not inexpensive. However, there are other issues that come to mind where spending is concerned.

Main Content

How Much Do Trusts Such as Medicare and Social Security Really Cost?

When I went looking around for information regarding trust funds, what I found involved huge numbers. For example, the costs for operating trust funds in 2010 included:

OASI: $586 Billion dollars
DI: $128 Billion dollars
HI: $249 Billion dollars
B: $220 Billion dollars
D: $62 Billion dollars

For a grand total of around One Trillion, Two-Hundred and Forty-Five Billions dollars.

The OASI, DI, and HI trust funds are measured by comparing their assets at the start of the year to their projected costs for the year, or their 'trust fund ratio.' The level of projected assets for a particular year means that even if expenditures do exceed income, the trust fund reserves themselves, with annual tax revenues, will be adequate to pay the full amount of benefits for several years, giving legislators time to act to restore financial adequacy.

Using this measure, the OASI trust fund is financially adequate through 2019, but the DI trust fund is not and will fall below the 93% mark by the start of 2013. The DI trust fund will be completely depleted by 2018. The HI trust fund is expected to be exhausted by the year 2029.

Some rather interesting numbers related to spending in the United States are not being thrown around in news stories related to the budget conflict. These numbers involve military spending, and the numbers are truly horrendous. For example, the cost of the war in Afghanistan, a war that finds soldiers coming home with everything from amputations to PTSD, has cost this nation approximately $392,948,000,000 as of today, April 6th, 2011. The war in Iraq is still ongoing, despite what you may have heard in the news, and it has cost America approximately $783,359,000,000 as of today. The total cost of these two wars together, at least financially, is approximately $1,176,307,000,000.

America has now gotten involved with military actions in Libya - a third front. In the first week alone in Libya, America spent around $600,000,000. Military actions in Libya are now costing this nation approximately $100,000,000 with every week that passes by.

Just a moment; let's take a look at a couple of these numbers here.

The cost of Trust Funds, $1.2 Trillion dollars.
The cost of wars this nation is pursuing? Around $1.9 Trillion dollars or so and counting.

There is an obvious difference in the amount America spends killing people in the name of defense and the amount it spends on caring for people who need it most. The debate over the budget in America relating to Medicare and Social Security is irrelevant if the wars we are involved in would end. Every single soldier needs to be brought home at once. While the representatives of this nation like to tell everyone how dire things are financially and how we all need to cut back - you certainly are not hearing them talking about ending wars that have no purpose in reality.

Yet the financial irrationality does not stop with wars, believe it or not. According to Jennifer Kerr, two-thirds of the corporations doing business in America do not pay any federal income taxes whatsoever! Around sixty-eight percent of foreign companies that do business in America are avoiding federal taxes as well. There were; in fact, greater than thirty-eight thousand foreign companies that had no tax liability in the year 2005. These companies had combined sales of $2.5 Trillion dollars!

Yet here are the representatives of this nation, giving the corporations who do business in America corporate candy. Here they are, refusing to pass legislation that would find these major corporations paying their share of taxes like everyone else in this nation. I call that criminal.

Let's Put This All Together

The cost of Trust Funds$1.2 Trillion dollars.
The cost of wars this nation is pursuing? Around $1.9 Trillion dollars or so and counting.
The amount lost through corporate tax evasion? Billions upon Billions of dollars.

The next time I hear any representative in America talk about a budget crisis and how this nation needs to put even more of a burden on People with Disabilities, Seniors, Children, and Disabled Veterans to survive financially, I think I am going to vomit. There are funds available for this nation to use if it will only find a competent tax auditor and a human soul to end these pointless wars.

The corporations of America, as well as foreign corporations doing business here, need to start paying their share of taxes. No more corporate privilege and candy. The wars this nation is involved in are too expensive, and we cannot afford them anymore - period. Bring our soldiers home from all fronts at once. Representatives telling People with Disabilities to cut their budgets while spending Trillions of dollars on wars and giving corporations incredibly unreasonable tax evasion opportunities is utterly ridiculous. A nation that cannot take care of its people is not a nation, it is a rabble; it is a mob. America seemingly does not have representatives - it has a mob.

Insights, Analysis, and Developments

Editorial Note: The central tension in this editorial has not aged out of relevance - the question of where a nation chooses to direct its money is, at its core, a question about values. When trust fund programs that millions of people with disabilities, seniors, and veterans depend on for basic survival are treated as budget problems while trillions flow toward military operations and corporate tax breaks go largely unchallenged, the math tells a story that the rhetoric often tries to obscure. Whether one agrees with every point made here or not, the underlying data forces an uncomfortable but necessary conversation about who bears the real cost of fiscal policy in America, and that conversation still matters today - Disabled World (DW).

Ability Lane Author Credentials: Thomas C. Weiss is a researcher and editor for Disabled World. Thomas attended college and university courses earning a Masters, Bachelors and two Associate degrees, as well as pursing Disability Studies. As a CNA Thomas has providing care for people with all forms of disabilities. Explore Thomas' complete biography for comprehensive insights into his background, expertise, and accomplishments.