It’s been a crazy week since President Donald Trump took office and social media is ablaze with news that’s sending everyone into overdrive. But no matter which side you stand on, there are lots of important issues that shouldn’t be overlooked, one of which is the president’s plan to relieve a $10-plus trillion debt with a budget cut plan that involves defunding several federal agencies and programs.
You may not have heard of some of these agencies, but you should know others very well, such as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (“Sesame Street,” anyone?) or the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as groups that support preserving our environment and protecting civil rights.
Time has broken down the cost it would take for each one of us to help save these programs — including lots of jobs — at a stunning rate of just $22.36. That’s $0.07 a day! Let’s take a closer look at these costs:
$1.37 to watch Big Bird, Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch continue to break bread (Corporation for Public Broadcasting)
$0.46 to continue seeing art programs thrive everywhere (National Endowment for the Arts)
$0.46 to have access to this country’s museums, colleges and libraries (National Endowment for the Humanities)
$0.11 to help minority businesses develop (Minority Business Development Agency)
$0.66 to help entrepreneurs continue to innovate (Economic Development Administration)
$1.60 to keep our goods exporting outside of the U.S. (International Trade Administration)
$0.43 to help small/medium-size manufacturers develop new products and bring these products to the market (Manufacturing Extension Partnership)
$0.88 to help local communities improve their policing by hiring more personnel (Office of Community Oriented Policing Services)
$1.48 to help cut down on domestic and dating violence and sexual assault against women (Office of Violence Against Women)
$1.55 to help lower income families with legal services (Legal Services Corporation)
$0.48 to battle against discrimination and protect your voting rights as an American (Civic Rights Division of the Justice Department)
$0.38 to uphold the law against those want to destroy our environment (Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Justice Department)
$0.03 to help climate scientists continue to study global warming and its effect on us (UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)
$0.81 to modernize our electric grid to keep it reliable and secure (Office of Electricity Deliverability and Energy Reliability)
$8.95 to find new methods of creating sustainable energy (Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy)
$2.71 to help us reduce our carbon footprint (Office of Fossil Energy)
Now, if only it were that easy to send over $22.36 through the right channels…
