Just the Facts: Budget and Immigration |
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Last week, USAFacts Found Steve Ballmer debuted Just the Facts, a series dedicated to understanding pressing US issues by the numbers. For the next few weeks, we’ll focus on the topics in from those videos and dig into aspects of the US budget and immigration. |
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How much is the federal government spending?
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When it comes to federal government spending, American taxpayers have skin in the game. Nearly half of government revenue comes from individual income taxes, which pay for the nation’s mandatory and discretionary expenditures. In 2023, the federal government collected $4.5 trillion in revenue and spent $6.2 trillion, running a deficit of around $1.7 trillion. USAFacts has the details here.
- Over 97% of 2023 revenue came from some form of tax, including 49% from individual income taxes, 37% from payroll taxes (including Social Security and Medicare payments), 9.4% from corporate income taxes, and 1.7% from sales and excise taxes.
- The government spent the most on Social Security (which was 22% of the budget or $1.35 trillion), national defense and veteran support (18% of the budget or $1.13 trillion), transfers to states (roughly another 18% at $1.09 trillion), and Medicare (14% or $848 billion).
- An annual deficit occurs when the government spends more than it collects in revenue; when revenue is higher than spending, that’s a surplus. The last fiscal year with a federal surplus was 2001.
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- The accumulation of deficits over time is known as the national debt. As of June 14, 2024, the national debt totaled $34.7 trillion.
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How big is the southern border?
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The southern border remains a major topic of the 2024 election cycle. The border divides the US and Mexico in remote locations, though sometimes it separates cities. Yet, the border connects the nations as much as it separates them. Here's a snapshot of border data.
- The 1,954-mile-long border between the US and Mexico includes 18 miles off the Pacific Coast and 12 miles extending into the Gulf of Mexico. The Rio Grande forms another 1,255 miles; the remaining miles stretch from El Paso, Texas, on to the southwestern tip of Arizona, then follow the Colorado River 24 miles north. From there, it follows the southern Californian border.
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- Customs and Border Protection, an arm of the Department of Homeland Security, polices the border and beyond by performing transportation searches and investigations. The Border Patrol operates 68 stations in nine sectors on the southern border.
- People can legally cross international borders at ports of entry. The US–Mexico border had 47 active land ports of entry as of September 2023.
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The Food and Drug Administration approved a blood test to screen for colon cancer one week ago. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults between the ages of 45 and 75 should regularly screen for the disease. Here’s many people in the US get colon cancer.
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to distribute billions of dollars through its Solar for All program late this summer. The program is supposed to help with residential solar projects nationwide. We have data on how much solar energy homes produced as of 2022.
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One last fact: Election edition
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Twenty-nine states and Washington, DC, have drop boxes where people who vote by mail can return ballots in person. Twenty-one states don’t offer drop boxes, but in all but one, voters may drop off ballots at their county election offices during specific times. |
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