So it looks like the crazy 2010 budget is going to pass. Right now the number that seems to be the real figure is $3.55 trillion. That's $11,700 for every american, so around $46,000 for a family of 4. That's before we even think about paying off the debt. In 2008 we spent 412 billion on interest for our debt alone. in 2009 we will have a much larger debt, so those payments will go up.

With this spending bill and the interest on our debt the total spent by the government on a family of 4 is $52,303 (will go up in 2009). This is before we even think about reducing the debt.

The median household income in the US $50,233.

Why would congress do this to the people it was elected to serve?

Firstly is that the median income before tax?

Secondly the reason congress would do this is because an extraordianry situation requires an extraordinary budget.

Edit: And also progressive taxation along with higher earnings amongst the rich means that using the median rather than the mean income is really quite misleading, the income scale is nothing like a bell curve.

The DOW seems to be pretty happy with the way things are going. Was up 216 points today. That's three days of gains in a row.

I have a feeling it's not going to stay that way. It's been bouncing around for awhile now. :|

Time will tell I guess.

edit: It's late and I'm starting to state the blantantly obvious. Time to log off.

That's before taxes. I could not find the mean is why I chose the median.

And that last line means you feel it's ok if over half the country is a tax burden on society, and the way to make that up is to have the rich fit the bill?

Interesting that no one seems to talk about this, and the best response anyone can come up with is the DOW is up.

This is a huge issue that should be the top story on every news site.

Of all the averages to use, you used the median? That's ridiculous.

 Yah, there keeping it afloat for now but before the end of 2009 I'll guarentee you were gonna see the DOW drop to 4000( or lower).

Mafoo, I agree with you. But we knew this was coming, what with Obama and his "taking a scalpel to the budget" analogy during the debates. We don't need a scalpel, we need a chainsaw and a bulldozer. Not that McCain would have been much better, he would be the same as Bushy was... Lord knows that is not what people wanted.

I will be getting out of all debt, except my new car, this year, and probably within the next 2 months. And then I can start saving and doing things I really want to do. The government is so far in debt, and yet they keep leveraging America to do more than they should. Keep a balanced budget, and get out of debt ASAP. Then we can quibble over what to spend when and where.

How can the state of United States afford $50,000 on each family of 4? 50,000 Dollars! How can there be so much money produced in the USA??