Thank you to our event sponsors: Bernstein Private Wealth Management, JBG Smith, Russell Reynolds Associates, USAFacts
Ballmer addressed the Economic Club following the release of USAFacts' annual report, which contains a collection of federal, state, and local government data organized to highlight demographic trends in the United States. The report found that 86% of all government spending comes from eight areas, including crime and fire protection, education, savings, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, transportation and the national debt. He also highlighted the aging of the U.S. population and the effects that trend has on the economy writ large. "[An older population and more people living alone] both drive down median household income. Seniors don't earn as much as younger people... there's a demographic shift that will continue to drive household income lower by the choices we're making, including living longer being a choice." Overall, Ballmer stated his goal with USAFacts is to arm people to have more civilized political and social debate, with data providing a baseline to ground discussion. "We present the [numbers]. People can look at these things and see something different... Numbers are helpful. Adjectives can be uncivilized. Numbers are what they are."
