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The average household in Texas paid $6,006 in federal income taxes in 2004. Here is how that amount was spent:

Military and Defense: $1,800

Health: $1,218

Interest on the Debt (Military): $530

Interest on the Debt (Non-Military): $588

Income Security: $395

Education: $220

Veterans Benefits: $206

Nutrition: $161

Housing: $129

Natural Resources: $104

Job Training: $24

Other: $632

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

Contributing writer and former news editor Michael King has reported on city and state politics for the Chronicle since 2000. He was educated at Indiana University and Yale, and from 1977 to 1985 taught at UT-Austin. He has been the editor of the Houston Press and The Texas Observer, and has reported and written widely on education, politics, and cultural subjects.