When it comes to big ticket items — a television set, a car, a house – you don’t buy it without knowing the price or your monthly payment. That’s the only way to know if you can afford it.
So shouldn’t government be the same way? Can Washington D.C. really afford to pile more debt on our credit card? Judge for yourself.
When you combine the public debt — the amount we owe China and other nations — with our intragovernmental debt — what we owe social security — the interest alone is $383 billion.
That’s more than what we spend on energy, agriculture, homeland security, education and almost every other government agency combined.
So how can you judge if Washington’s next purchase is worth it?
This week, Fox News is introducing the Taxpayer Calculator. It allows us to break down programs into amounts we can understand. Take the $99 billion dollar bailout of AIG, General Motors and other failing companies. How much of your money went to those big bailouts?
CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS TAXPAYER CALCULATOR
Type in your salary. When we use $50,000, America’s median salary, this pie chart shows what portion of the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) bill is paid for by that tax bracket. It then calculates how much each American pays individually for the program
In the case of a $50,000 salary, TARP would cost you $478. For top wage earners it would cost $13,000.
In addition to the Taxpayer Calculator, you can also vote. Results will tell us if the public agreed with each expenditure of their money
These numbers are based on tax returns – whether you file single or married.
All this week we will be putting a price tag on government programs – from earmarks to subsidies. Why? Because it is all your money.