You make $400k but can't spend $500... wtf?

I just figured I'd share this little tidbit for some people to think about when it comes to the government shut down and wall.

One of the reasons I think people don't get more upset with politicians and spending is that the numbers often being thrown around are too big for the average person to comprehend. As a result, they have no context or ability to relate.

The 2018 federal budget is $4 trillion dollars. Basically, $4,000,000,000,000. Donald Trump is asking for $5 billion dollars to fund the wall. Now $5 billion dollars is a lot of money for an individual. That is Lannister sh*tting gold rich for GOT fans. However, in the context of the US government spending $4 trillion, it really isn't a lot of money for a major capital project like securing the border.

Let me put it in terms that the average middle American can understand. A household budget.

Let's knock off a few zeros. If we divide by $4 trillion by $10 million, that leaves us with a household budget of $400,000. This is still a lot of money for an individual or a household. In fact, that is basically 1% income money in the US. If you carry that divisor of $10 million over to the $5 billion for the wall it becomes...... $500.

In other words, if the US government was a household that made $400,000, the husband and wife are bickering over whether the husband can spend $500 on a home security system. Hubbie is sleeping on the couch and not getting any loving because the wife is mad he wants to spend $500 on a SimpliSafe.

Let that sink in. So the federal government is essentially shut down over what amounts to a $500 expenditure for someone who makes $400,000 a year... Since some of you can't relate to making $400k/yr if you remove one zero, it is like someone who makes $40,000 a year not being able to spend $50.

If Republicans put this out in these terms so everyone could understand, I don't see how the Democrats can stand with a straight face justifying not giving DJT his wall funding.


Flame away...

originally posted by: Edumakated
I just figured I'd share this little tidbit for some people to think about when it comes to the government shut down and wall.

One of the reasons I think people don't get more upset with politicians and spending is that the numbers often being thrown around are too big for the average person to comprehend. As a result, they have no context or ability to relate.

The 2018 federal budget is $4 trillion dollars. Basically, $4,000,000,000,000. Donald Trump is asking for $5 billion dollars to fund the wall. Now $5 billion dollars is a lot of money for an individual. That is Lannister sh*tting gold rich for GOT fans. However, in the context of the US government spending $4 trillion, it really isn't a lot of money for a major capital project like securing the border.

Let me put it in terms that the average middle American can understand. A household budget.

Let's knock off a few zeros. If we divide by $4 trillion by $10 million, that leaves us with a household budget of $400,000. This is still a lot of money for an individual or a household. In fact, that is basically 1% income money in the US. If you carry that divisor of $10 million over to the $5 billion for the wall it becomes...... $500.

In other words, if the US government was a household that made $400,000, the husband and wife are bickering over whether the husband can spend $500 on a home security system. Hubbie is sleeping on the couch and not getting any loving because the wife is mad he wants to spend $500 on a SimpliSafe.

Let that sink in. So the federal government is essentially shut down over what amounts to a $500 expenditure for someone who makes $400,000 a year... Since some of you can't relate to making $400k/yr if you remove one zero, it is like someone who makes $40,000 a year not being able to spend $50.

If Republicans put this out in these terms so everyone could understand, I don't see how the Democrats can stand with a straight face justifying not giving DJT his wall funding.


Flame away...

Perfect.....thank you.

This is the exact thing thats been going through my head.

The math dont lie, the 5b is minuscule. Hell, if I made 400k I'd spend 500 bucks a month....just on cigars.

It's not about the money, it's about deposing trump and pushing some other nefarious agenda.

Math checks out.

Maybe it's time to cut the federal budget to 10% of the current level. Give the rest back to the tax payers...


After we build the wall, of course.

Dems need the votes, nothing to do with money

a reply to: Edumakated

No flame from me man.....Just get this damn wall built and move on I say.

BTW good OP but I think your math may be a little off. But I could be wrong. TBH math was never my strong point.

Get realistic. fifty dollar expenditure on an income of 40 grand a year is easier to understand. One night in the bar.

originally posted by: WUNK22
Dems need the votes, nothing to do with money

Exactly, but the way I put it exposes their true motivations.

The government could build and then tear down said wall if it didn't work and it still wouldn't even amount to anything relative to the overall US budget.

a reply to: Edumakated

1 cent or 1 million is no different when people want to make a point, right now it all about the principle of the matter.
If the wall gets built, Trump /Republicans win, if it doesn't the Democrats feel like they are winning.

In the end, it's just us Americans that lose. We are always losing.

Great point, but that doesn’t include the money that will recycle back to our government through taxes.

Nvm.

When you talk about the wall, you have to realize one important thing...

It is NOT about the MONEY.

The amount of money that is "repatriated" by the government when we arrest drug smugglers, coyotes and the like, would have paid for the wall a few dozen times by now. The amount of money taxpayers would save by limiting illegal immigrants and their tax incentives would have paid for it a few dozen times by now.

It is just politics. That is it. The illegals vote overwhelmingly democratic. The states that are controlling the border are mostly democratic.

Plus, the dems just shut the government down because they are throwing a tantrum about the wall.

Well done... and I also like the "$50 for someone who makes $40,000.

However, to add a bit more complexity to it, this same guy being asked if he will spend the $50 out of his 40k salary is also spending $60,000 a year... which, mens there's definitely trouble brewing.

THAT SAID, if he is ALREADY over spending his annual income by $20,000, there is a HELLUVA lot of stuff he can cut out, that makes that $50 a non issue.

I did not check the math either, on the OP's example... but the general idea on putting it out there is brilliant.

originally posted by: Iconic
When you talk about the wall, you have to realize one important thing...

It is NOT about the MONEY.

The amount of money that is "repatriated" by the government when we arrest drug smugglers, coyotes and the like, would have paid for the wall a few dozen times by now. The amount of money taxpayers would save by limiting illegal immigrants and their tax incentives would have paid for it a few dozen times by now.

It is just politics. That is it. The illegals vote overwhelmingly democratic. The states that are controlling the border are mostly democratic.

Plus, the dems just shut the government down because they are throwing a tantrum about the wall.

That's exactly right. It's all about politics and the Dems quest for power, nothing more, nothing less. Funny thing is, people actually believe the DNC cares about them. One look at the Democratic controlled communities in our country tells you all you need to know. They don't.

I have thought that the wall's issue is not that much about money.

The wall would go through some privately owned lands and Americans in general don't want their own property to be messed with.

Then why couldn't the Republicans just simply pass the bill and get the President to sign for such?

The Republicans held the full majority in the House, and could pass any bill, and not need any Democrat to sign on, so it was not in the House. And the Senate, well McConnell, could use the Nuclear rule to pass it along and then Trump could have signed it.

So if the Republicans held the majority in both chambers of congress, not needing any Democrat to vote in favor, then why is there a shut down?

originally posted by: Edumakated

If Republicans put this out in these terms so everyone could understand, I don't see how the Democrats can stand with a straight face justifying not giving DJT his wall funding.

Your correlation example was easy to understand and visualize. The Border Wall would have been under construction already if Republicans knew how to construct and deliver real-world presentations, as you just did.

Next week, Republicans and President Trump should call a special press conference and:

1.) Have two families who have lost a loved one at the hands of a Illegal Alien briefly tell what happened. Listening to the family today of the California police officer slain by an illegal alien this week, was emotional. The hurt, loss, anger was real and deep. (CNN-ABC-MSNBC-CBS did not cover any of this today. Only FoxNews did.)

2.) Have a Mom/Dad who lost their daughter (show photo of her) to Heroin from Mexico tell their story.

3.) Using your example, President Trump himself should give a 3 minute power-point presentation that demonstrates how small $5 Billion is in our economy. Even it were $20 Billion, the lives saved are priceless.

Since 90% of the Mainstream Media NEVER reports on how Illegal Immigrants and Drugs coming across the US/Mex border have brought hell-on-Earth to so many American families, a Live Prime Time press briefing on this subject would be a real eye-opener to the majority of Americans. (Trump would have to use a suitable "hook" to make the FAKE NEWS networks cover it.)

It's not about the money. It's a moral issue. Moreover the 'wall' would just be a 100 mile stretch of land.

You didn't honestly believe Trump is fighting over a 2,000 mile long wall did you? It's the principle of the matter. Trump wants a 100-mile wall to tell his supporters, "Look, I did what I said I would do!" Despite the fact that it's barely a fence at this point.

Oh, quick reminder that the House Democrats already offered to pay $25 billion for a wall back in February so long as there was a provision to allow a path to citizenship for DACA recipients. Trump will tell you that Democrats rescinded the offer after the courts declared that the DACA program must remain...he won't tell you that he rejected the offer because of the path to citizenship part of the deal.

a reply to: Edumakated

But they sure found $150 billion for Obama to give to Iran! I am so irritated with all the political BS that I don't even listen to the media and find other real world things to do. This country is going to have another civil war or revolution before long. It is all insanity!

originally posted by: WUNK22
Dems need the votes, nothing to do with money

Dems aren’t going to get the votes

Six more years without even breaking a sweat. There is ZERO competition. Nobody is going to vote democrat. I’d even wager that 2024 will go to republicans as well.

Five billion is minuscule. A tiny tiny drop in a massive massive bucket. I hope he spends ten times that and makes it awesome!

not the uhhhhhh sharpest cookies in the pile around here, hey?
quite aside from it being a moral issue, you guys know what a budget IS, right?
it's this thing where you divide up and allot all the money that you're going to have.
so when hubby from the earlier analogy is going "wah wah i want $500 to put barbed wire on our fence for whatever reason" it REALLY DOESN'T MATTER how much or how little of the overall amount that 500 is - the money has been allotted and there isn't any extra.
Unless you want to take the money that would be buying school supplies for the children and use that instead.

Except that America has already been doing exactly that for so long that you're woefully unbelievably in debt and still it's considered normal to pump trillions and trillions into the military each year while your health and education systems fester in neglect.