Impacts of Killing Off USAID

I keep seeing the negative impacts of the Trump admins killing off of USAID, which is pretty sad.

hsph.harvard.edu/news/usaid-shutdown-has-led-to-hundreds-of-thousands-of-deaths/

kpbs.org/news/health/2026/05/19/a-study-investigates-did-the-abrupt-end-of-usaid-have-an-impact-on-violence

For the median household income in the US ($83,730), USAID costed about $25-$30 per year in taxes. Even for a family making $150k per year, USAID accounted for $55 per year.

It’s actually an intersting philosophical discusssion — should people be forced to pay, even minimal amounts, to improve quality of life (and lives) elsewhere in the world? I guess from the conservative perspectve, the answer is obviously no. And perhaps they’re right. But regardless, I personally do want to live in a society where the answer is yes. I want to be around other good people want to take on the larger project of making the world a better place. And so perhaps I’m ok that there are people who don’t see things the same as me, but at the same time, I really want to leave them behind, and be a part of a better society.

Calculated via Claude, via these resources:

USAID Budget

U.S. Census Bureau / USAFacts: $21.7 billion in actual FY2024 spending (0.3% of federal budget) — usafacts.org
Congressional Research Service overview — congress.gov

Number of Taxpayers

~160 million filers in 2024 — oreateai.com (citing IRS data)
IRS Data Book FY2024 — irs.gov

Tax Bracket / Effective Rate Calculations

2024 federal tax brackets and standard deductions — taxfoundation.org
SmartAsset income tax explainer — smartasset.com
H&R Block tax bracket guide — hrblock.com

Average Federal Tax Paid

National Priorities Project: average taxpayer paid $17,766 in federal income taxes in 2024 — nationalpriorities.org

Median Household Income

U.S. Census Bureau, Income in the United States: 2024 report: median household income = $83,730 — census.gov