WHERE YOUR TAX DOLLARS GO

At my niece Florence's wedding

Linda is looking especially lovely, don't you think?

My mother is on Linda's right; my sister Susannah is on my left.

Ever wonder where your Federal tax dollars go?  Well, unless you are impossibly rich, dreadfully poor, or dead, the answer undoubtedly is yes.  No doubt a fair bit goes up in smoke, in the form of waste and/or mismanagement.  Lots, in my view, goes to fund stuff the Feds either can’t do or shouldn’t be doing.  But, of course, lots goes to things that are well worth doing.  Top of that list, again in my view, is work done by NCI, the National Cancer Institute; NCI probably is bloated, cumbersome, bureaucratic, and slow but its heart is in the right place and, by and large, it does good work.

So what? you ask.  Well, new NCI Director Dr. Norman Sharpless, has just released NCI’s Annual  Plan and Budget Proposal, aimed at Congress and the Trumpster.  It is a massive, detailed document which, if you have time to burn, you can read by clicking below.  I haven’t read it thoroughly myself as yet, so I will confine myself to reporting the grizzly fiscal highlights.  Next rainy day I will study it and report any important scientific highlights.  So…..

NCI is asking Congress for $6.522 billion for Fiscal 2020, of which $622 million is to offset inflation. This is an increase of $857 million over the current budget.

Of the current budget proposal, $195 million comes from the “Cancer Moonshot” program initiated under Obama and so far not terminated by you-know-who.  The Moonshot ends in 2023 and, if all goes according to plan, will expend $1.8 billion.

NCI both funds research at various universities and cancer centers throughout the country, and conducts research at its own laboratories.  (For a glimpse into how NCI research works, read my book review  http://ljb-quiltcutie.blogspot.com/2018/09/review-of-important-book.html)

For comparison, cost estimate of Trump's border wall - $33 billion.  For a modern aircraft carrier, $13 billion.  Cost of cigarette usage in the U.S., per year ~ $300 billion.

More, later.

https://www.cancer.gov/about-nci/budget/plan?cid=eb_govd eleb_govdel_en_public_annual-plan__int