The cost to operate the Federal government for one day is about $18 billion.

bwestergard 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

The only way you could arrive at such a high figure is if you included transfer payments like Social Security and Medicare in "the cost to run the government", which is not how most people understand "the cost to run the government".

	▲	SegfaultSeagull 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		Social security and Medicare account for 36% of the Federal budget and are absolutely understood as a cost to run the government. Calling them transfer payments doesn't obviate the fact that they are costs to American taxpayers. Social security and Medicare are also the two Federal outlays that economists fear will bankrupt the United States.

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epistasis 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

The entire NSF budget, our basic science infrastructure which is currently being destroyed by withholding grant funds against Congress' wishes, is only half of that. And Trump's budget cut it in half, Congress had to push back to avoid throwing away half of a carefully grown research industry.

Meanwhile Trump also wants to increase the daily allocation of military spending by $1.3B per day, to go to useless and unproductive contractors such as his son, rather than truly effective defense spending.

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Pfhortune 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

[citation needed]

	▲	SegfaultSeagull 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/feder...