It's the night before your federal income taxes are due. While most people focused on polishing off that last schedule on the 1040 form, what do people get for the taxes they pay?

In 2007, individual taxpayers sent nearly $1.163 trillion to the federal government. That makes up about 45 percent of the total $2.568 trillion the government took in last year.

The rest of the money comes from payroll taxes ($870 billion), corporate taxes ($370 billion), alcohol and tobacco excise taxes ($65 billion) and customs duties/estate taxes ($100 billion).

"About two-thirds of all of the money that the federal government takes in goes to the big three entitlement programs: Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid," said Steve Francisco, Federal Policy Director for the Minnesota Budget Project, a division of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.

"A lot of people think that one of the biggest items in the federal budget is foreign aid. That's not true. Foreign aid is less than one percent," said Francisco.

Social Security is the biggest part of the federal budget, making up 21 percent, with $586 billion budgeted to be spent in 2007. National defense spending is a close second making up 20 percent of the budget ($553 billion).

That budgeted amount includes $129 billion for personnel costs and $217 for operations and maintenance. However, it doesn't include the total costs for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Actually, Congress has passed 12 supplemental association bills which are off-budget, and they're taking another one up within the next couple weeks," said Francisco. The off-budget costs essentially go onto the nation's credit card: the deficit.

Medicare is the number three expense, making up 14 percent of the budget ($375 billion), followed by the income security category, which is 13 percent at $366 billion. Income security is disability benefits, food and housing assistance, retirement benefits for federal employees, etc.

"I would like to see it go more to schools and education," said one woman on Minneapolis' Nicollet Mall.

Education makes up 2.3 percent of the federal budget; that includes money for elementary, secondary and higher education. In fact, the non-defense, non-entitlement part of the budget, things like schools and roads is just 18 percent of the total.

"And actually that share of the budget is shrinking as the baby boomers age and require more health care and become eligible for social security," said Francisco.

(WCCO) Reporting: Jason DeRusha