The following exercise can be used in a 
classroom to illustrate what portion of 
the Federal budget goes to NASA.  

I worked through this exercise with a 
group of middle school students a week
after Mars Observer was lost in August
1993.  It helped me to illustrate the
cost of NASA's programs in terms that 
the students could understand.

--  K. S. Edgett, 27 January 1994.

  
Page 1

How Would You Spend the Government's Money?

Each year, our Federal Government creates a budget to appropriate money for several things. The money they use comes from the taxpayers (i.e., YOU). What if you had control over how much was spent for each of the following categories? Pretend you have a hundred dollars. How do you want to divide it up? Be prepared to discuss and justify your spending. Later, we will reveal the actual Federal budget.

Amount:		Category:

		National Defense/Military

		International Affairs, Foreign Aid, etc.

		Science/Technology/Space
		(How much of this amount is just for NASA? ______ )

		Energy (supply, conservation, research)

		Natural Resources and Environment

		Agriculture 

		Transportation (highways, railways, air traffic control, etc.)

		Commerce/Housing/Community Development

		Education/Social Services/Employment Training

		Health/Medicare (includes medical research, AIDS, etc.)

		Social Security

		Veterans Benefits

		Income Security (unemployment, food stamps)

		Administration of Justice (law enforcement, courts, prisons, etc.)

		General Government (keeping Gov't. running)

		Interest on the Debt

					
TOTAL must = $100

Page 2

How Did the Government Spend the Government's Money?

The following are the actual amounts spent by the Federal Government in Fiscal Year 1991. The Actual dollar amounts are given in the second column. Compare the amounts in the first column with your results.

Amount:		Actual $$:	Category:

21%	 	$304 billion	National Defense/Military

2%		$23  billion	International Affairs, Foreign Aid, etc.

1.1%		$16  billion	Science/Technology/Space
				(How much of this amount is just for NASA?  
					0.90%   [$13 billion])

0.30%		$5   billion	Energy (supply, conservation, research)

2%		$19  billion	Natural Resources and Environment

1.2%		$17  billion	Agriculture 

2%		$31  billion	Transportation (highways, rail lines, air
 				traffic control, etc.)

6%		$91  billion	Commerce/Housing/Community Development

3.1%		$46  billion	Education/Social Services/Employment Training

12%		$178 billion	Health/Medicare (included medical research)

19%		$272 billion	Social Security

2.3%		$33  billion	Veterans Benefits

12%		$176 billion	Income Security (unemployment, food stamps)

1%		$13  billion	Administration of Justice (law 
			        enforcement, courts, prisons, etc.)

1%		$14  billion	General Government (keep Gov't. running)

14%		$194 billion	Interest on the Debt

					
100%		$1.43 trillion	TOTALS

Page 3

Mars Observer

                Cost:            

            $980 million




       Cost was spread out over 
      ten Fiscal Years, 1984-1993:

         $98 million per year




      Assuming Federal Budget is
      $1.43 Trillion each year,
       Mars Observer was only

               0.007%
      of the budget each year




   If there are 212 million taxpayers,
   Mars Observer cost each person

           46 cents per year

                 or

             $4.60 total