What are the benfits we recieve from the federal income tax besides military protection?

Question

What do we receive in social services, care and security that is not related to the military?

Answer 1

Well, after 9/11 I hope you don't underestimate the value of that protection, but, to name a few things:

The interstate road system

Trans-state law-enforcement

The national park system

TONS of very useful pork barrell legislation such as the TVA and the electrification of various remotely rural places

The Coast Guard (technically an arm of the military, but their purpose is different)

Environmental protection

The ability to challenge state laws contrary to the Bill of Rights

Disaster relief

Assorted projects by The Army Corp. of Engineers

Enforcement of American law beyond american borders, such as DEA efforts in SE Asia and South America.

Various educational programs and scholarships.

Answer 2

You need to broaden your question; the federal government is free to allocate its receipts among its programs as it sees fit (with the exception of Social Security that has its own tax), so concentration on income taxes alone is meaningless. Also, we are not far from the point where payroll taxes replace income taxes as the dominant form of taxation.

This said, the largest federal government programs are Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Before the 9/11 madness, these programs combined were about three and a half times larger than defense. Social Security alone was about 40% bigger than defense.

Read Citizen's Guide to the Federal Budget:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/citizensguide.html

Unfortunately, the publication of annnual Citizen's Guide to the Federal Budget ceased when President Bush took office...

Answer 3

Many other services centrally controlled. For example maintenance of interstate highways. Conduct of elections.Space exploration\ projects. Defence R&D projects of national importance and so on