The US is spending less and less on investigations. When the space shuttle Challenger disaster happened in 1986, the US government spent about $175 million US Dollars (USD) investigating the cause. When terrorists flew planes into the Twin Towers in New York on September 11, 2001, the government spent about $15 million USD investigating the disaster. In the financial crisis that started in 2008, only $8 million USD was spent investigating the problem.
More Money Spending Facts:
- The US government spent $711 billion USD on military operations in 2008 — about the same as the rest of the countries in the world combined.
- In 2009, the US government spent a total of $3.5 trillion USD, $0.4 trillion over the budget; the 2015 projected spending is almost $4.4 trillion USD.
- Through the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the US federal government spends about $17 billion USD on the "War on Drugs."