[MUSIC] So this is a very simple data visualization that's meant to illustrate how our taxes are spent by the government here in the United States. This was created in 2010, and it has a place where you can enter your salary or how much you earn per hour in that year. These are the default examples, I will leave them there. >> So, they've picked a mythical person, not a real person, and said she makes $50,000 a year in 2010. >> Yes, and what they're asking for you to do is enter whatever you make. You can increase this or decrease this as you would like to match your salary, but it's not taking that information from you, it's not storing it anywhere, this is not a piece that your are turning over to the website. It's just asking you this piece of information so that the website can respond to you. >> Okay. >> So I'll leave it here at the default which is $50,000. And up here If I made $50,000 a year, then I would be spending 6 hours and 16 seconds today working for the money. So, here, what they're trying to do, is, to make this big amount of money that you pay to the government personal. Right? I've never seen $50,000 stacked on the table before. I don't really know what that amount of money [CROSSTALK] feels like. [LAUGH] [CROSSTALK] I would like to. >> Yeah. >> But here, what it's trying to do is to make this relatable in some way. >> So it's saying if you had $50,000 over the whole year, we've now boiled it down to what share of that $50,000 is one day. And within that one day, what share, what, how is each minute and each hour spent. >> Yes, because I know exactly what 15 minutes feels like, I don't know what $15,000 feels like, so this is making it relate to me and it directly reflects my workday. >> So it's saying in 2010 that 6 hours and 17 seconds of today, you worked for the money that you could take home. >> Right. And so then you say, well wait a minute. According to this clock, I worked nine hours. >> Right. >> So where [CROSSTALK] did those other two hours go? So you can start to dive into this and say, okay I spent 30 minutes today working for the Department of Health and Human Services. >> So what that says, because the labels will change, but the reality won't. Whatever the government takes to give out in social programs, in the U.S. we call it Health and Human Services, that portion of those other hours, not the 6 hours and 17 minutes, but the other hours went to Health and Human Services. Now I'm going to see some other part of government that is my taxes are supporting. Any ideas? The Department of Defense. 23 minutes was, I spent working for, to give money to the Department of Defense. Wow! Okay. >> Yeah, so this is a great example of an explanatory piece. I can imagine perhaps a non-profit putting a, a piece like this out of the government, putting this out to try to get people more connected to the experience of paying taxes, to better understand where that money goes. >> Or I could have a non-profit say if you give us $100, we'll show you where it all goes. >> Absolutely. >> Okay, so pick another one. How about some of those little fine lines down at the bottom. >> Well, so down here. This is our Department of Energy. 52 seconds today. >> So as a voter, it actually gives me something more. Which is, I might start to say, well I really don't want to spend that much on defense, and I'd like to spend more on clean energy. Which then means I could think about candidates that would represent my view, or becoming active in public policy or whatever. >> Yes, it's connecting you not only to the money that you're paying, but to the issues that you care about, because your time might be spent in a disproportionate way to how you think your time should be spent. >> Or conversely, indeed. I could say, I don't feel safe. I'd like more defense. And then I'd pick candidates that support that. [MUSIC]
