Stumbled on a stat about black budget spending today

I was reading through some old declassified docs from the 90s and found out the US spent around $1.5 trillion on black budget projects just between 1997 and 2015. That blew my mind because it's more than most countries entire GDP. Anyone else run into numbers that seem too wild to be real?

3 comments

3 Comments

parkerkim18d ago

Used to think the whole "black budget" thing was just conspiracy stuff people said to sound smart online. But then I actually looked at the declassified documents myself and holy crap, the numbers are insane. $1.5 trillion is more than the entire GDP of most countries and it's just stuff that's completely hidden from us. Kinda changes how you see the government when you realize they can just move that much money around without anyone knowing. Makes me wonder what else is buried in those numbers that we'll never see in our lifetimes.

sethanderson18d ago

Once you start digging, it's a rabbit hole that never ends.

ryanburns18d ago

That line about $1.5 trillion being more than most countries' GDP really hit me hard. @sethanderson is right, it's like one of those doors you open and can never shut again. Just the thought of that much money moving around without any public oversight gives me the creeps, man.