The US Federal Budget, Diagnosed
Your government's $6.71T shopping list, reviewed by someone who's actually done the maths. 18 categories. Most of them wrong.
Related Analysis
Top 5 Recommendations
Military: United States spends $2052/cap (rank 27/28). Switzerland spends $389/cap with Life Expectancy 83.37. Overspend: 5.3x. Potential savings: $564B/yr
Veterans Affairs: United States spends $10333/cap (rank 28/28). South Korea spends $3588/cap with Life Expectancy 83.57. Overspend: 2.9x. Potential savings: $2.3T/yr
Education: United States spends $2996/cap (rank 11/11). Japan spends $1288/cap with PISA Math Score 536. Overspend: 2.3x. Potential savings: $579B/yr
Justice / Law Enforcement: United States spends $12848/cap (rank 25/26). South Korea spends $6037/cap with Life Expectancy 83.57. Overspend: 2.1x. Potential savings: $2.3T/yr
Energy: United States spends $1991/cap (rank 25/28). Netherlands spends $1064/cap with After-Tax Median Income (PPP) 31221.39. Overspend: 1.9x. Potential savings: $314B/yr
Current vs Optimal Spending
Military
Veterans Affairs
Health (non-Medicare/Medicaid)
Education
Homeland Security
Transportation
HUD / Housing
Energy
Foreign Aid / International Affairs
Justice / Law Enforcement
Science / NASA
Labor
Agriculture
Treasury / General Government
Commerce / Economic Development
State Department / Diplomacy
Interior / Natural Resources
EPA / Environment
Full Category Breakdown
| Category | Current | Optimal | Gap % | Overspend | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military | $886B | $167B | +81.1% | 5.3× | Major Decrease |
| Veterans Affairs | $325B | $112B | +65.5% | 2.9× | Decrease |
| Health (non-Medicare/Medicaid) | $94B | $32B | +65.5% | 2.9× | Decrease |
| Education | $102B | $44B | +56.5% | 2.3× | Decrease |
| Homeland Security | $62B | $12B | +81.1% | 5.3× | Major Decrease |
| Transportation | $105B | $66B | +37.5% | 1.6× | Decrease |
| HUD / Housing | $73B | $46B | +37.5% | 1.6× | Decrease |
| Energy | $52B | $27B | +47.4% | 1.9× | Decrease |
| Foreign Aid / International Affairs | $63B | $39B | +37.5% | 1.6× | Decrease |
| Justice / Law Enforcement | $40B | $19B | +52.4% | 2.1× | Decrease |
| Science / NASA | $44B | $23B | +47.4% | 1.9× | Decrease |
| Labor | $42B | $26B | +37.5% | 1.6× | Decrease |
| Agriculture | $38B | $24B | +37.5% | 1.6× | Decrease |
| Treasury / General Government | $30B | $19B | +37.5% | 1.6× | Decrease |
| Commerce / Economic Development | $18B | $9B | +47.4% | 1.9× | Decrease |
| State Department / Diplomacy | $19B | $12B | +37.5% | 1.6× | Decrease |
| Interior / Natural Resources | $17B | $11B | +37.5% | 1.6× | Decrease |
| EPA / Environment | $12B | $6B | +52.4% | 2.1× | Decrease |
Generated 4/6/2026 · Source: Optimitron OBG (Optimal Budget Generator)
The Efficient Frontier
Every country is a data point. The frontier shows what the best-performing countries achieve at each spending level, measured by life expectancy — the metric that actually tells you if people are alive and functional. The US is spending 2.6x what the frontier countries spend — for worse outcomes. On my planet, we call this “paying extra to be worse at things.”
Spending vs Life Expectancy
Health Spending
Education Spending
Spending vs Median Income
Real median after-tax income from household surveys (World Bank PIP, 2017 PPP dollars). Not GDP — because you can increase GDP by building nuclear bombs and blowing up the rainforest.
Health Spending
Education Spending
Earth Optimization Prize
The gap between current and optimal won't close itself.
Every misallocated dollar above is a life not saved. The 1% Treaty referendum proves demand for evidence-based budgeting. Deposit into the prize pool, recruit verified voters, earn VOTE Points.