In January 1918, some ten months before the end of World War I, US President Woodrow Wilson had written a list of proposed war aims which he called the Fourteen Points..
Today, discretionary spending makes up less than 40 percent of the entire budget. Net Interest-Net interest is the only part of future spending that cannot be reduced by legislative action because it is money that must be paid to service the U.S. debt.
In fiscal year 2015, the federal government is expected to borrow $583 billion to make up the difference between $3.18 billion in revenues and $3.8 trillion in spending. Borrowing constitutes a major source of revenue for the federal government. Down the road, however, the Treasury must pay back the money it has borrowed, and pay interest as well. In 2015, the federal government will pay $229 billion in interest on the national debt. For more on this topic, see Federal Budget 101: Borrowing and the Federal Debt.