/the-real-spending-problem.html

The Real Spending Problem - NYTimes.com
▻http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/17/opinion/sunday/the-real-spending-problem.html

Each year, the government doles out tax breaks worth $1.1 trillion. That is more than the cost of Medicare and Medicaid combined. It is more than Social Security. It tops the defense budget, and it tops the budget for nondefense discretionary programs, which include most everything else.

Tax breaks work like spending.