Categories
Government Spending

How much does the government spend per person?

The entire US Federal Budget alone is $4.4 trillion and the US population is 328,316,410. Dividing the US budget by the US population produces $13,401 in federal spending per American. $1.87 trillion in state spending produces $5,695 per person in state government spending. $1.99 trillion in local spending produces $6,061 per person in local government spending. Total […]

Categories
Taxes

How much does the average American pay in Taxes?

The average American pays $10,489 in “personal taxes,” representing 14% of the average household’s total income. This $10,489 includes: federal income taxes state income taxes personal property taxes vehicle taxes other small taxes However, the entire US Federal Budget alone is $4.4 trillion and the US population is 328,316,410.

Categories
Economics Financial Sector

US Financial Crisis: Who Killed the Economy?

The cause of the US financial crisis is simple. It’s debt. This is a very simple and graphical evidence-based explanation of what caused the collapse.

Categories
Government Spending

Anti-Terrorism Spending 50,000 Times More Than on Any Other Cause of Death

The US spends more than $500 million per victim on anti-terrorism efforts. However, cancer research spending is only $10,000 per victim. Evolutionary psychology may offer an explanation for this irrational threat amplification.

Categories
Terrorism War

Iran US Foreign Relations: A History of Violence

Many Americans consider Iran to be a psychopathically violent nation that would be willing to commit suicide in order to kill as many Americans as possible. The statistics behind historical Iranian US relations do not support this view.

Categories
Corporate Welfare Federal Reserve Financial Sector GDP

Financial Sector Costs Us More than Any Other Sector In Economy

The financial sector receives more of the average paycheck than any other sector of the economy.  Its share of the economy totals $2 trillion dollars. In 1985, the financial sector earned less than 16% of domestic corporate profits.  Today, it’s over 40%. In the 1960s, finance and insurance accounted for only 4% of GDP, whereas in 2007 […]

Categories
Politics

There’s a 0.00001% Chance that Your Vote Will Matter

There’s less than a 0.00001% chance that your vote will be the tiebreaker that decides the outcome of a national elections.You are more likely to be injured in a car accident driving to the polls (0.002% chance). Hence, if you are trying to make a practical improvement in your life and those of your loved ones, it is much more rational to just stay home on election day.

Categories
Utilitarianism

How Much Direct Suffering Is Caused by Various Animal Foods?

This is a rigorous analysis from the brilliant utilitarian mind of Brian Tomasik originally published at http://www.utilitarian-essays.com in 2005. I made this graph in 2007 to try to illustrate his point visually. Abstract. Consuming equal weights of different animal products may produce vastly different expected amounts of direct suffering. Farmed seafood may cause the most, followed by poultry products. […]

Categories
Empiricism

Why Think by Numbers?

A world without disease, starvation, violence, and suffering is the ultimate destination of humanity. Getting there will require voters to base their decisions on statistical cost-benefit analyses instead of irrational emotions. The power of numbers can make utopia a reality.

Categories
Government Spending Military

Governments Spend $1.8 Trillion Murdering Us and Destroying Our Property Annually

World governments are spending $1.8 TRILLION each year finding ways to murder us and destroy our property.