Now that our taxes are paid - Where is all of that money going?
Yesterday was the last day of the 134 day tax season and there is no doubt that countless Americans were scrambling to get their taxes sent off in the mail despite several reminders we have given them to do their taxes at TSS here, here and here.
With the clock expired, and no time left to explore creative ways of increasing your return or lowering your dreaded payment, I thought a focus on where all of that money is going would be more appropriate for our latest tax installment. Below I’ve included an interactive diagram that visually displays to you every dollar that will be spent as part of the 2009 Federal Discretionary Budget.
There are an infinite number of interesting comparisons that can be made with the data in this diagram. For example, I quickly noticed that we spend the same amount on the Department of Education as we do on purchasing and maintaining aircrafts for the Air Force - ~$50 Billion a year. You can play with this diagram for hours, and I hope you will, as it is truly important that we as Americans have a full understanding of our government’s priorities.
If you are curious to learn more or to play with a larger version of the same diagram, here is a link to the guys website that puts this together.
