USAFacts is the brainchild of Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft and current owner of the Los Angeles Clippers (an NBA team). It's an interesting place to go for "real" figures involving our government. Will the "right" accept Ballmer's data? They should. But will they? Who knows? They are probably busy developing their own "AlternativeFacts."
Here's s a short blurb on Wikipedia, which you should be supporting, BTW.
USAFacts is a not-for-profit organization and website that provides data and reports on the United States population, its government's finances, and government's impact on society.[1][2] It was launched in 2017.[3]
USAFacts was founded by former Microsoft CEO and owner of the Los Angeles Clippers,[4] Steve Ballmer.[5][6] Ballmer invested his own money in the project.[7] USAFacts was launched on April 18, 2017, Tax Day, with the goal of making government data about tax revenues, expenditures, and outcomes more accessible and understandable. USAFacts's platform is designed to provide information to the public about government spending and impact at all levels, from federal to local.[8][9][10] It includes information about border apprehensions, climate, immigration, active shooters, medicare, education, military spending and opioids.[4] It also helps entrepreneurs to figure out the best location to launch or invest in businesses.[7][non-primary source needed]
At launch, the website gathered data from over 70 government agencies and pulls data from more than 130 US government statistical databases and reports.[11][non-primary source needed] Only official government data is included in the site.[12][13][5]
How much does the government spend, really? |
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The government's spending depends on the revenue it collects through taxes, customs duties, and other sources. Of course, it often spends more money than it brings in. When this happens, the government borrows funds, contributing to the national debt. - In FY 2023 (October 1, 2022, to September 30, 2023), the federal government spent about $6.2 trillion, or about $18,400 per person. This was down 8.5% from the previous fiscal year but up 15.9% from FY 2019.
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- In FY 2023, about 58% of federal spending went to three major spending priorities: Social Security ($1.4 trillion), defense ($1.1 trillion), and transfers to state and local governments (also $1.1 trillion).
- Medicare accounted for 14% while interest on the debt accounted for another 11%. Meanwhile, 18% went to a large grouping of “other” programs, ranging from $31 billion for Pell Grants to $124 billion for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (often called “food stamps”) and $17 billion on technology infrastructure.
- From 1980 to 2023, federal spending grew 2.8 times while the US population grew about 1.5 times. The takeaway? The federal government is spending more per person than it did years ago.
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The least efficient government programs |
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Thirty-seven government spending priorities are considered highly vulnerable to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, according to the independent, nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO provides this information in an effort to help save taxpayers money. Here’s an overview of the GAO’s process and what’s on its watchlist. - Since 1990, the GAO has produced a list of federal programs at high risk for financial issues and in need of reform. These issues can, among other things, threaten the nation's public health or safety, national security, and economic growth. The GAO might also include programs at risk of losing at least $1 billion.
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- This year’s list of 37 programs included improving and modernizing federal disability programs, NASA’s acquisition management, Health and Human Services’ leadership
of public health emergencies, and contract management at the Defense Department.
- The GAO highlighted five areas in particular need of attention:
- National cybersecurity
- Government responses to drug abuse
- Federal food safety oversight
- Government liability for environmental cleanup
- Managing fiscal risks associated with climate change
- The list included 14 high-risk programs in 1990. The GAO has added 53 programs since then and removed 29 after they demonstrated adequate improvement.
- According to the GAO, Congressional and agency actions addressing high-risk areas saved the government an estimated $100 billion between 2021 and 2023.
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Authorities are saying that the firearm used to kill UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Brian Thompson was a ghost gun, meaning it was made privately and lacks the serial numbers typically used to trace firearms. The number of ghost guns sent to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has more than tripled since 2019. A rebel group assumed control of the Syrian government. Civil war has raged across the country for more than 13 years. From 2011 to 2023, Syria ranked sixth highest for refugees coming to the United States. |
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In October, New York City had the nation’s highest inflation rate at 4.0%, followed by Chicago (3.5%) and Baltimore (3.4%). Phoenix had the lowest rate, at 1.6%, followed by Atlanta (1.9%) and Houston (2.1%). New inflation data just came out last week. Click here to see how the cities included in the new Consumer Price Index report are faring now.
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