In 2023, the US collected $1.66 trillion in tax receipts for social security and Medicare while spending $2.9 trillion on social security and Medicare, a $1.24 trillion deficit for these items. The total budget deficit in 2023 was $1.7 trillion.

In 2024, the US collected $1.71 trillion in tax receipts for social security and Medicare while spending $3.1 trillion on social security and Medicare, a $1.39 trillion deficit for these items. The total budget deficit in 2024 was $1.83 trillion.

Obviously the interest on debt is a huge and growing problem. But in order to get out of perpetual deficits, you can’t spend over a trillion dollars more than you collect for these programs.

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