The Congressional Budget Office announced today that the deficit could be as high as $1.2 trillion. However by 2010 it could lower to $703 billion.
Holy Shit!
I don’t even know what $1.2 trillon looks like. Googling around I found a NY times article from 2007 that describes exactly what you can buy with $1.2 trillion. (Strange, its the same figure as the deficit; makes me wonder if the government fabricated today’s numbers.)
Afterward, curiosity made me search how much money Uncle Sam had spent as of today (or most recently), $32 billion dollars according to the USASpending.gov. Most of the money has been federal assistance funds awarded to states and contracts awarded to Hewlett Packer.
Now imagined if $32 billion dollars were evenly divided among all US taxpayers. We — you, me, our county — would be wealthier, ultimately stimulating the economy faster than Uncle Sam.
Why?
Because you and I know how to spend our hard earned money better than anyone else, especially Uncle Sam. If that’s the case, then we don’t really need a chief performance czar like Obama suggests.
Milton Friedman teaches below the four ways you can spend money. Think how much farther we could stretch $1.2 trillion amongst our economy, if Uncle Sam wouldn’t mismanage our money.
For more insightful comments on the deficit, read Chris Edwards post on the Cato blog.
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