this post was submitted on 19 Jan 2026
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[–] baller_w@lemmy.zip 9 points 1 day ago

For context, $77 billion is more than most nations spend on their military.

What we could have bought instead; a list of real problems that money could help significantly with, or fix entirely (generated with AI):

Universal Healthcare (Medicare for All)

  • Est. cost: $3–4T per year
  • $77B covers ~2–3 weeks of healthcare for the entire US
  • Or ~6–7 million people for one year
  • ~2% of annual national healthcare spend

High-Speed Rail and Public Transit

  • Est. cost: $50–120M per mile
  • $77B covers 600–1,200 miles of true HSR
  • 3–5 major national corridors plus urban transit upgrades

Homelessness, Veterans, and Mental Health

  • Est. cost: $150k–300k per housing unit; ~$25k/person/year care
  • $77B covers 250,000–400,000 permanent housing units
  • 10+ years of care for all chronically homeless
  • 100% of veteran homelessness eliminated

Roads, Bridges, and Infrastructure

  • Est. cost: ~$5M per bridge; ~$1M per mile of road
  • $77B covers 15,000–20,000 bridge replacements
  • ~100,000 miles of roadway rebuilt
  • ~15–20% of all structurally deficient bridges

Domestic Semiconductor Manufacturing

  • CHIPS Act: $52B total
  • $77B covers 150% of CHIPS Act
  • 3–5 leading-edge fabs
  • Full AI, defense, and automotive supply-chain security

Fusion and Advanced Energy

  • ITER reactor: ~$22B
  • SPARC program: ~$4B
  • $77B covers 3 ITER-class reactors
  • 10+ SPARC-class fusion programs

Climate Resilience and Clean Energy

  • Est. cost: ~$1B per GW renewable capacity
  • $77B covers 60+ GW clean power
  • Electrification of ~10 million homes
  • Coastal protection and grid modernization across multiple states

Public Sector Scale Comparison

  • Equals 3+ years of NASA’s budget
  • Equals 10 years of US homelessness funding
  • Exceeds annual defense budgets of most countries