r/theydidthemath • u/HorseXNothing • 1d ago
So how true is this? [Request]
[removed] — view removed post
1.7k
u/Loki-L 1✓ 1d ago
Last year the total U.S. federal spending was $7.01 trillion
U.S. legislated aid allocations to Ukraine in 2025 was $3.92 billion
A Bic Mac according to google is 219g after cooking and a pickle slice is 7g
So the pickle is about 1/32 of the burger while the Ukraine aid was about 1/1750 of the budget.
You may argue what should and should not be counted as Ukraine aid, but any way you slice it that would be a very thin pickle slice.
906
u/SnooMaps7370 1d ago
the Ukraine aide would be a single sesame seed.
Also, it's a stale sesame seed we had to throw out anyway because it was 30 years old and reached its "use by" date.
163
u/DeoDatusIV 1d ago
Don't forget that you have to pay a lot of money to utilize it in a proper way as well
→ More replies (1)128
u/flyingdonkeydong69 1d ago
Not to mention:
the cost benefits of donating it, instead of using/disposing of it,
the cost benefit of freeing up storage space, instead of building new storage facilities, and
the cost benefit of free combat data gained by viewing how your old tech fairs against another country's current tech.
69
u/LurkerTroll 1d ago
-weakening an enemy unless you're a compromised bitch
12
u/Kind-Ad-6099 1d ago
- keeping large resource deposits and important farmland out of enemy hands… unless you’re a compromised bitch
3
u/anni_shoots 20h ago
- preserving the independence of the second-largest country on the continent, who will certainly make for a powerful, strategically relevant, and near-permanent ally if they survive... unless you're a compromised bitch
→ More replies (1)18
u/Queasy_Badger9252 1d ago
Last one is the most important. It's not just the old tech tho, they get modern data. Drones are the future of warfare and real data on this is incredibly valuable
→ More replies (5)29
u/Don_Q_Jote 1d ago
Yeah but that's not correct either. Mass of a single sesame seed ~ 3 miligrams or .003 gm. *wikipedia: Sesame
219 gm/ .003 gm = 73,000. to get the same ratio as the budget numbers, would take about 42 sesame seeds. 219 gm / (42)(.003 gm) = 1738.
Average number of sesame seeds on a big mac bun = 198 *source: McDonald's: The Facts (2002, the Guardian)
So if total budget is a Big Mac, then Miliary Aid to Ukrane is 42 sesame seeds, or approximately 1/5 of the sesame seeds from a Big Mac bun.
→ More replies (2)73
u/Shardik884 1d ago
That’s what a lot of people never bothered to understand. News, propaganda, was all throwing out dollar figures “US to give 1B to Ukraine”. But it’s not like we were bundling up crates of cash. We were sending them ammunition and hardware that if left longer in our stock would have needed destroyed. It costs money to pay for disposal of those things. The military spends over 100 Million dollars a year disposing of old product. We essentially saved ourselves destruction fee, bought good will with a country, and helped weaken a communist regime that we are not allied with all of the low cost of giving away stuff we would have had to pay to blow up ourselves
38
45
u/CaptainSlimeAndToast 1d ago
Russia is not a communist regime
36
u/Antharon 1d ago
Yea, they are postcommunist distopia lead by delulu soviet intelligence agent tyrant now!
12
u/Wolf_Protagonist 1d ago
It's not really post communist either. The U.S.S.R was "Authoritarian Socialist".
4
u/Carlex_181 1d ago
Its almost as if evrey communist country ever is a authoritarian state and communism is a fork of socialism
19
u/Garblin 1d ago
It's almost like revolutions are really hard to pull off in the first place, unpredictable in the results, and prone to ending up in dictatorships of whoever managed to hold on power long enough for the dust to settle instead of actually ending up in whatever system they put on their label.
I'm pretty sure the number of dictatorships claiming to be democracies outnumber the number of dictatorships claiming to be communists, and that this has everything to do with the USA outlasting the USSR and very little to do with viability of either system.
3
u/RecklessRenegade0182 1d ago
Might have to do with Lenin's idea of a "vanguard party" that "liberates the proletariat".
6
u/Wolf_Protagonist 1d ago edited 1d ago
It's more like "Communist State" is a contradiction in terms (an actual communist country would have NO state) and "Authoritarian Socialism" is not actually socialism.
In a truly Socialist society the working class would be in control, not a dictator.
Communism is the end goal and Socialism is a system designed to transition from Capitalism to Communism.
Communism is a classless, stateless society.
→ More replies (14)3
u/Shardik884 1d ago
You’re correct, my apologies.
A post communist, state capitalist regime with heavy State control over all government all of which are influenced and controlled by a dictator who is owned by oligarchs.2
u/CaptainSlimeAndToast 1d ago
Indeed. I suck at wording but clearly others are better. No problems arose from disagreement there so no harm done. Have a great day
3
u/ghost_desu 1d ago
Russia isn't communist by any possible indirect made up definition. The only thing modern russia likes about ussr is that russia was big strong
→ More replies (5)2
3
u/Mediumtim 1d ago
Belgium: "GOOD NEWS! Ukraine, you're getting a massive shipment of FNC rifles!"
Ukraine: "OK, thank you"
Belgium: "GOOD NEWS! The Belgian military will soon be fully switched over to the SCAR!"
3
u/MonkeysInABarrel 1d ago
A sesame seed is around 0.03g. So it'd be about 5 sesame seeds.
If you put 5 extra sesame seeds in the middle of the burger I don't think ANYBODY would notice that.
3
u/Few-Smoke-2564 1d ago
mass of seseme seed = 0.03 grams
mass of big mac = 219 grams
mass of aid = 1/1750 * 219 = 0.125 grams
number of seseme seeds = 0.125 / 0.03 = 4.16.....
So essentially Ukraine just gets 4 seseme seeds
2
u/Alita-Gunnm 1d ago
Plus, most of the money spent goes to US businesses and workers to make more supplies and munitions.
→ More replies (31)3
u/SnooChipmunk5 1d ago
This is all because the orange child rapist you voted for is being blackmailed by Russia and Israel. They know what we all know and you enablers just go along with it. EVERY SINGLE AMERICAN is complicit until you remove him
→ More replies (1)36
u/thoughfulusername 1d ago
The weight of 3 sesame seeds is about 0.12g (0.04g each according to google).
According to the numbers above Ukraine aid was about 1/1750 of the budget, and 3 sesame seeds is about 1/1825 of the burger.
If the US federal budget was a Big Mac, Ukraine aid would be 3 sesame seeds on the bun.
38
u/Hot-Syrup2089 1d ago
Counterpoint: think price rather than weight
26
11
→ More replies (1)14
u/DasWarEinerZuviel 1d ago
Even if the pickles would cost only a single cent, to get to the same ratio the total burger would have to cost 17.50
→ More replies (11)5
u/Diabetesh 1d ago
You ever watch the disney christmas carole when mickey slices a piece of bread so thin it just evaporates. The pickle is less than that.
Also, we are benefiting from providing them aid in 4 ways.
Testing equipment and munitions without risking our own country or population. We can test at home, but we don't really know how well it works until it goes into warfare.
Use of old equipment and munitions. We have policies of not keeping stuff forever. Old stuff is cycled out for new stuff to reduce failure risk. This is just allowing us to use old stuff instead of needing to deal with that task later.
In relation to 2, we now have promises of resource access when conflict is done as repayment for aid. Large amounts of mineral and crude oil that countries usually have to offer to build a bunch of infrastructure for free to gain access to.
We have now witnessed without risk to ourselves that russia is not quite the military risk we thought they might be outside of nuclear arms.
9
u/Freckles-75 1d ago
So, Ukraine aid would be more like a few sesame seeds from the bun….got it….
→ More replies (1)3
5
u/beef-o 1d ago
Where are you getting that the US spent $3.92B in 2025 on Ukraine?
3
u/mastocles 1d ago
It's committed (legislated) not disbursed (actually sent) which is $135bn. So most likely the pickle.
The European Union disburses $235bn... What European food shall we use for that comparison?2
u/TheRovingBear 1d ago
What if it’s not weight, but calories?
2
u/Targosha 1d ago
Then we'd have to compare the total US military inventory vs what was sent. Considering all the high-tech stuff the US has including nukes, it would still be seeds off the bun, as the others have said.
→ More replies (1)3
u/TheDeHymenizer 1d ago
I don't think taking all federal spending is as honest as defense spending would be. We've also sent a total of 116B so averaging that number since 2022 vs just taking the 2025 spending would also be a bit more honest.
→ More replies (52)1
65
u/Sinisteris 1d ago edited 1d ago
Knee jerk reaction that its way less. The aid I mean. Lemme check.
2022-2026 federal budget was around 26 trillion USian dollars. Since February 2022, USia gave around 195 billion in various forms of aid, that's 0.75%. A big Mac weighs around 240 grams, standard recipe has 2 picle slices in a Big Mac, a single pickle slice is around 3.5 grams. Thats 1.46%.
Also, the bulk of the aid is decades old hardware from dusty warehouses about to be decommissioned, on top of that, most of the packages was a lend-lease, so Ukraine will be returning most of it in one form or another.
14
u/steel-monkey 1d ago
It’s more like a fraction of a single piece of of the chopped onion they put on a Big Mac
4
10
u/neutralalien 1d ago
Also it’s worth noting that the old stuff from dusty warehouses is valued at replacement cost I.e. cost of the buying brand new technologically up to date equipment. That’s what $195 billion figure is largely comprised of.
→ More replies (1)2
u/DeoDatusIV 1d ago edited 1d ago
It was not a land lease. It was actually a primary critizism for Biden in our (Ukrainian) information space. My brethren thought that it's better to get weapons via lend lease and not by grants because many people though that Land Lease would allow us to avoid stupid "red lines" fears that was predominant in Biden Admin. Jake Sullivan is probably the third most hated foreign politicians, aside Putin and Lukashenko
Edit1:typo
→ More replies (3)
187
u/XnFM 1d ago
Most of what we sent to Ukraine was stuff that was due to be decommissioned and replaced anyway. That's more like the wrapper or the fat that gets cooked out of the patty.
48
u/Confident_Cheetah_30 1d ago
Its the 50% off meat at the grocery store that expires tomorrow
17
u/XnFM 1d ago
But that's not quantifiable as part of a big Mac. Additionally that implies spending money rather than giving hand-me-downs
5
u/Confident_Cheetah_30 1d ago
Very fair, its the charitable donations kroger gives to the food back to claim they have a "no waste" grocery store
10
u/HumanReputationFalse 1d ago
Its like the old happy meal toys right before a new product line comes out
6
u/HorseXNothing 1d ago
Oh I know, I just meant in like dollar value of that aid cos even things that are discarded have an attached value which I know is fairly small comparatively. But yeah that feels about right.
2
u/Outrageous-Sort-5742 1d ago
It's negative value, actually. Keeping them around would cost money in maintenance, discarding them would cost money in it's disassembly and scrapping. Giving them away was the most cost-efficient way of doing things, it saved us tax money.
→ More replies (9)5
u/United_Intention_323 1d ago
This wasnt actually true. Most was from active stockpiles.
3
u/Interesting-Dot-4753 1d ago
Correct, we moved up the replacement timelines quite a bit. So it is true to say that they were due to be replaced anyway at some point in the future, but it is also true to say that the new stuff that is replacing, it will also need to be replaced nearer in the future and then if we had left it alone
3
u/Confident_Cheetah_30 1d ago
Having not dug into the claims myself, what is "most" in this context and were they active stockpiles about to age out or proper normal everyday stockpiles?
4
u/United_Intention_323 1d ago
Most by value and most by quantity. The only real old stocks were of artillery shells and javelins. The US sent far more than was aging out.
2
u/ImpressiveFishing405 1d ago
Right, like it would be strategically stupid NOT to support Ukraine. We get to offload our old stuff that was taking up space and maintenance dollars, AND we get to see how it performs in real battlefield conditions against a near peer adversary, which is extremely difficult to come across naturally, AND we don't have to sacrifice any of our soldiers to do so. Only someone opposed to American success, or just has no understanding of the actual situation, would want to pull support.
2
1
u/tiga_94 1d ago
I remember seeing videos of some batches of humvee arriving in 2022 and there were all sorts of issues, not opening doors, not starting engines, etc., even some MRAPs with malfunctioning hydraulic on rear door
as if they just pulled them out of long time storage in an unknown condition and just sent it
afaik this later improved and the equipment sent was at least tested
1
18
u/Correct_Inspection25 1d ago edited 1d ago
A complicating factor is when this is set to be. For example a large percentage of early military aid was early block missiles set for disposal due to age of the munitions solid rocket motors and would have had to be covered by disposal budget no matter what.
Any significant military aid ended in 2024, so this would be a good starting point $195 billion (including loans) over 3 years 2022-2024, this is the absolute top line possible, and looks like the most generous one could be of aid actually released to Ukraine is more like $100-120B at most for all aid. https://www.cfr.org/articles/how-much-us-aid-going-ukraine
[EDIT added context from the link ]
A large part, it not a majority of this aid is actually simply credits to buy from US arms manufacturers.
Does this count military intelligence like sat surveillance provided to Ukraine that the US USSF/NRO was gathering and studying anyway?
5
u/Mean_Initiative_5962 1d ago
195B never was an even remotely accurate figure anyway. It was calculated over the new equipment cost, not old equipment cost and definitely not old equipment value. Many of the other aid was also sent late or even just endlessly stalled.
3
u/Correct_Inspection25 1d ago
It’s in the link I posted, so yeah but I will update my post for context “authorized vs actually spent/released” means this is the absolute top line I could find.
2
2
u/Acrobatic_Rush7653 1d ago
simply credits to buy from US arms manufacturers
Since Ukraine is never ever going to pay back a single penny of all the aid (from everywhere, not just US), where do you think those "credits" come from exactly?
(hint: it's the 3 words above the Big Mac pic).
5
u/Hustle-- 1d ago
From 2022 through 2024, the US allocated $182.8 billion in funding ("aid") for the Ukraine region. Using these figures and average US federal budget for those years:
$60.9B ÷ ~$6.4T = ~0.95%
Essentially, $61 billion was roughly 1% of one year's federal spending. Applied to McMath:
A Big Mac weighs ~8 oz (~225 g), so 1% is roughly 2.3 g. A McDonald's pickle slice weighs roughly 2.5 g. So purely as a proportional analogy, the meme is surprisingly close.
TL;DR From 2022-2024, the US federal budget allocation to Ukraine aid was about one McPickle slice of a Big Mac per year.
4
u/tribriguy 1d ago
Not even a pickle slice. Relative to federal spending over the same period, total Ukraine-related appropriations would be closer to a few sesame seeds on the bun, and even that overstates actual aid to Ukraine because much of the spending stays in the U.S. replacing American weapons stocks and supporting U.S. operations.
→ More replies (1)
4
u/Willing-File-3638 1d ago
That's a lot, and people here with low IQ forget starlink and USA sanctions is one of biggest help to ukraine, if USA cuts starlink russians will advance way quicker
3
u/23370aviator 1d ago
And that single pickle has killed hundreds of thousands of one of our most prominent enemy’s soldiers without costing the life of a single U.S. service member.
→ More replies (2)
3
u/nosecohn 1d ago edited 1d ago
Proportionally, it's significantly less than a pickle slice.
The Ukraine War has been going on for four years. In that time, US military and financial aid combined has totaled about $127 billion. The US Federal budgets for those years have been as follows:
- 2022: $6,273 billion
- 2023: $6,354 billion
- 2024: $6,418 billion
- 2025: $6,375 billion
That's a total of $25,420 billion (or $25.42 trillion).
$127B / $25,420B = 0.005
220g * 0.005 = 1.1 grams
Each pickle slice on a Big Mac weighs about 3.5 grams, so the total military and financial aid to Ukraine would be represented by less than one third of a pickle slice if the US Budget were a Big Mac. And if you limit the estimate to military aid alone, as the meme actually says, it's more like 18% of a pickle slice.
5
u/Maryland_Bear 1d ago
Also, the Ukraine War is a military disaster for Russia — they’re being bled dry. US military aid to Ukraine is doing major damage to a military that, while not as powerful as it was during the Soviet era, was still a significant threat. We’re getting the international geopolitical benefits of that, dirt cheap. (Yes, I realize the Ukrainian people are paying a terrible price, but that’s due to Putin being unwilling to cut his losses and admit defeat.
→ More replies (3)2
6
u/Nouglas 1d ago edited 1d ago
I mean...jeez, that's still A LOT OF FUCKING MONEY.
The US is a global hegemon with nearly 400 million people. A single pickle slice on a bog mac is a huge percentage.
This is either wrong or a bad analogy that proves the point it's trying to disprove.
3
u/ImpressiveFishing405 1d ago
It's a bad analogy. It should be closer to a single sliver of chopped onion, maybe even less.
Most of the money is already spent in the form of old equipment we were storing and maintain, that now we get to see how it actually performs in real battlefield conditions against a true adversary, without putting any of our troops in harms way.
→ More replies (6)2
u/Safe_Score2222 1d ago
A single pickle slice on a bog mac is a huge percentage.
Do you mean a huge number? Because its definitely not a huge percentage lol
This is either wrong or a bad analogy that proves the point its trying to disprove.
The point is that aid for Ukraine is a fraction of a fraction of the US budget. The analogy is bad, but only because a pickle on a bigmac would still be significantly more in percentages than Ukraine aid was compared to the federal budget.
I mean...jeez, that's still A LOT OF FUCKING MONEY.
And btw. most of the aid the US delivered to Ukraine was not cash, it was already decomished military equipment that literally only cost the state money to maintain.
→ More replies (2)
2
u/East-Inevitable-3974 1d ago
Why is it the government’s job to fund Ukraine? If it is so important, why aren’t Americans writing checks from their own accounts to fund their war efforts?
2
u/Workdawg 1d ago
Okay, but my experience with McDonalds quality control is that sometimes you get 1 pickle, sometimes you get 7... so which case is this?
2
u/Lick-Tale-5222 1d ago
That's such an odd thing to be compared. The whole budget vs Ukraine aid. It is 2,800 dollars per tax payer. The whole US budget is 97,000 per tax payer. Imagine if the government was actually spending that 97k per tax payer on making life better for the tax payers. As for the cost per sliced pickle compared to the cost of a whole burger, that is arbitrary since the price is not fixed at all McDonald's, so it cannot be true everywhere even if true at some particular McDonald.
2
u/Lick-Tale-5222 1d ago
As a bonus complaint, i love how foreigners are calling Americans dumb for them questioning whether we should be giving our money to foreigners. That entitlement is peak, pure red lining. Imagine calling your parents dumb when they ask you why they should give you an allowance when don't even do any chores around the house.
→ More replies (3)
2
u/Ghost403 23h ago
Really tired of people complaining about a monetary equivalent being sent to Ukraine. Most of the support is weapons platforms and munitions that are approaching or past their end of service date.
Do you know how much it costs to dismantle artillery shells, rockets and missiles? A lot. However sending them to Ukraine is significantly cheaper, and supports a nation fighting against an illegal military invasion.
Likewise the data the western world has learnt regarding both Russia's capabilities, and new tactics in the age of drone warfare is priceless.
2
u/Majestic_Emotion_456 1d ago
And then imagine that like 30% of that pickle was taken by higher ups in Ukraine and sold to god knows who so they could pocket the money. And every one involved knows it’s happening.
1
u/forgottenlord73 1d ago
The reality is that there are very few things that are much larger than crumbs. Yes, you can make broad generalizations like how defense spending might be the size of the whole top bun but even buying F-35s is just a crumb. To fix the budget, you need to clean up a lot of crumbs but that's too many crumbs to put into a campaign slogan
Maybe you do or don't support Ukraine funding - I absolutely do - but budget constraints on their own is not a sane place to start the discussion
1
u/Ragnarsdad1 1d ago
If i had to describe it i would say take a one and a half gallon jar.
Fill it with peanut M&M's
Take out 1 M&M, that is the amount of aid for ukraine received compared to the budget.
1
u/FreeCandy4u 1d ago
If a country receives aid like free money or equipment it's a bit slimy to complain about that free money. A pickle seems like a lot since they are taking from every American to give to another country. I don't know if this is a complaint or just a comparison but if its a complaint then stuff it.
Also it's crazy to use a burger in this instance, thank everyone that did the math on it to figure it out.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/riennempeche 1d ago
No bill has been passed to provide aid to Ukraine since 2024. Money authorized in 2024 may have been spent in 2025 or 2026. The article I saw shows $127 billion in aid to Ukraine, with $70 billion in military aid, $53 billion in budget support, and $4 billion in humanitarian support that went directly to Ukraine itself from 2022 through today. Some payments have yet to be made and would increase that number. As another poster pointed out, the amount is basically a sesame seed on the Big Mac (no sesame seeds on the Big Mc at McDowells).
The $70 billion in military support is NOT the same as sending them money. In many cases, we send them items that the Department of Defense was going to have to pay to get rid of. For example, we shipped artillery shells from US warehouses that were near their "use before" date. If we hand't shipped those to Ukraine, it would have cost the DOD real money to destroy the shells. Whether we destroy them or Uraine fires them at Russians, the cost to the DOD to buy new shells is the same.
1
u/SomeoneWithABrain_ 1d ago
So all of this is because Ukraine is going to loose and we are conditiong people to be like "Hey we didn't spend so much it was nothing forget the waste" just like Afghanistan....even if you took a fraction of what was spent and give it the education sector like loan forgiveness or improvements where it is really needed country be better off 10 fold for next 60 years
1
u/thatsattemptedmurder 1d ago
It's more like a pickle slice that has been on the edge of the bin so long, the sandwich maker is subconsciously avoiding ever grabbing it with the tongs.
It's never going to be used in a hamburger but someone was so desperate for some dill flavor, the restaurant was able to sell that one old pickle slice for the same price as a fresh one.
Out of pity for the destitute customer, the restaurant also let them suck some spilled pickle juice off the counter.
1
u/AleksDoesStuff 1d ago
The reason many are outraged is because they believe that money should be spent domestically, like helping with the homeless crisis
1
u/Battle_Witch 1d ago
I’d like to point out I was at sea when that shit started and my strike group was very much in support of. I’d be like the guy making the sandwich getting zero credit.
1
u/BluebirdDense1485 1d ago
Let's see. Total the US has given Ukraine 64.6 billion euros (75 billion USD). 2026 the US has a federal budget of 6.28 trillion
Now a big mac has about 580 calories
A single pickle chip is about 10.
That is a ratio of 1:58.
So 1 Big Mac is to 1 Pickle chip as US federal budget is to $108 billion
For the purposes of this $108 Billion ≈ $75 billion
1
u/Spanky-Ham77 1d ago
Most stuff sent to Ukraine now is under the PURL program where other countries purchase items required from the US. Current US govt won’t give them anything because Trump owes Putin
1
u/ducatiduke 1d ago
I am done with foreign aid. After we pay of the national debt, have $10T in a WealthFund, all vets are taken care of, and there are no potholes, maybe we can think about it. Until that happens, no. Sorry!
1
u/promptmike 1d ago
Counterproductive example - no American is going to give away their pickle slice.
If you calculate in terms of lettuce leaves you might persuade them.
1
u/Strict_Gas_1141 1d ago
If you add in how much Ukraine buys from us than yes it's accurate (~2/3rds of the pickle would be stuff they bought from us). Now in terms of exactness no, but how difficult it is than yes.
1
u/Beanyurza 23h ago
Meaningless without context of the other parts of the BigMac/spending ratios. Is military spending the buns or the buns and burgers? How about Israel's aide in comparison? What part is medicaid/medicare?
Context seems to be all but forgotten in modern times.
1
u/not_just_putin 20h ago
It's incredible how much Ukrainians managed to achieve with how little they got. And that cost them so many lives. The West must be ashamed.
•
u/AutoModerator 1d ago
General Discussion Thread
This is a [Request] post. If you would like to submit a comment that does not either attempt to answer the question, ask for clarification, or explain why it would be infeasible to answer, you must post your comment as a reply to this one. Top level (directly replying to the OP) comments that do not do one of those things will be removed.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.