Here’s your podcast-friendly summary of the article “How Much Does America Spend?” from The New York Times:

In today’s budget bonanza breakdown, David Leonhardt and his colleagues at The New York Times help readers—and confused taxpayers—grasp just how jaw-droppingly massive the U.S. federal budget really is. Spoiler alert: it’s nearly $7 trillion. That’s trillion with a “T,” folks. The article cuts through the noise surrounding Elon Musk and President Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency (yes, really, it’s called DOGE), exposing the reality behind claimed budget cuts and showing why balancing the U.S. budget without touching popular programs like Social Security, Medicare, and defense is almost impossible. Despite loud promises to slash waste and trim federal jobs, the national debt continues to balloon, now costing more in interest payments than we spend on the military or Medicare each year. As the article puts it, “There’s an old saying among wonks: The United States government is just an insurance company with a standing army.”

Key Points:

• The U.S. federal government’s annual spending is almost $7 trillion—a figure so large that even billion-dollar discussions are mere rounding errors.

• The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk and President Trump, aims to cut waste and reduce the deficit primarily by slashing the federal workforce and eliminating fraud—but the impact so far is minor.

• DOGE claimed $130 billion in savings, but investigators found errors in those figures, and the agency has revised them down multiple times.

• Cutting the entire civilian federal workforce and their benefits would reduce the deficit by only 14%. Eliminating all improper payments—fraud, duplications, and ineligibility—would shrink the deficit by just 8%.

• Popular programs including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and military spending make up about 70% of federal spending and have been ruled untouchable by Trump.

• This leaves only 30% of smaller programs—like education, welfare, research, and foreign aid—on the chopping block, meaning real deficit reduction is nearly impossible without tax increases or cuts to major programs.

• The U.S. now spends more on servicing its national debt annually than it does on the military or Medicare, due to rising inflation and higher interest rates.

• “The U.S. government will remain in the red” unless lawmakers are willing to either raise taxes or reduce spending on those beloved large programs—neither of which seems politically viable at the moment.

• Bonus eyebrow-raiser: While the administration tries to fire IRS agents meant to crack down on tax dodging, experts say those employees return $2.5 for every $1 spent.

Fact-Check Summary:
Exaggerations by DOGE and Trump about fixing the deficit through workforce downsizing and fraud elimination don’t match economic reality. Historical efforts to eliminate waste have not produced significant savings, and watchdog estimates suggest that even perfect fraud suppression wouldn’t make a deep dent in the deficit.

Sources Consulted:

• Hamilton Project at Brookings
• Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
• Government Accountability Office (GAO) on improper payments
• Independent reporting by The Wall Street Journal on fraud claims

This explainer reinforces a hard truth: solving the debt problem means making politically risky choices that few leaders historically have dared to touch.
Link to Article