Millions and Trillions

[Amati]

LA Times:

The Dodgers, who have spent more than a billion dollars on player payroll in the first four seasons of Guggenheim Baseball Management, face a mandate to reduce debt in order to conform to Major League Baseball rules.

A BILLION dollars on player payroll? Wow. What could that same amount of money do if spent elsewhere? It seemed like an astronomical amount to consider, until I took a quick peek at comparing it to the 2017 US Federal Budget estimate. That is an eye popping 4.15 trillion dollars.

It is enough to make me want to hurry and close the internet tab on the budget, and hope it falls out of my mind quickly. I'd look at the National Debt as another comparison, but I don't think I have enough mental energy to make it through.

But bringing this back around to baseball, how can it be justified to spend that much on one team's payroll?

[helen]

Re: Millions and Trillions

That billion dollars for the payroll of players for the LA Dodgers was across a 4 year period, and during that 4 year period players come and go, not to mention it would be that pile of money that they tap for paying players they trade from other teams.

So yeah it could add up to a billion.

As far as the 4.15 trillion for the US Government, is that for the entire budget or just the payroll for the US Government?

[Amati]

Re: Millions and Trillions

That's for the entire Federal budget.

I'm not sure how to figure out just the Federal payroll portion only. There is regular payroll, and I'm thinking probably also independent contractors which would be sort of a wild goose chase if so. I know that Hawaii State has many of its workers under the status of independent contractor, and those $$ are buried in budgets for different departments but not as employees.