The New York Times has an interactive graph up of the $3.17 trillion proposed governmental budget up on their website. Some of the more interesting numbers:
- $808.04 billion in mandatory spending for the Social Security Administration (which the CBO has stated, barring any reforms, is permanently set to give out more money than it is taking in).
- $474.15 billion for interest on Public Debt — not the principal, just the interest.
- $11.57 billion for the Federal Communications Commission, which is best known for making sure that people don’t curse on television.
- $6.95 billion for the Railroad Retirement Board, a Social Security-style program for railroad workers.
- $1.31 billion for Agricultural Marketing Services. Not only does the government subsidize agriculture, they pay for advertisements telling telling you how good those subsidized veggies are for you.
Feel free to find your own interesting ways the government is spending money.
BONUS: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of the United States is 309,050,816, which means that if the $3.7 trillion dollar passes as stands, on average, each individual is responsible for $11,972 for this years budget.
