NEW YORK (AP) – Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has created a new organization to analyze government spending and revenue to make it easier to understand.
He says he created USAFacts because he was frustrated he couldn’t find a single source that combined all the relevant local, state and federal numbers.
Ballmer gathered a group of data specialists that spent nearly three years compiling the information for its first reports, which are available online at www.USAFacts.org . The reports will be updated periodically.
“I’m a numbers guy, and I think the appropriate role of numbers is to help take complicated situations and simplify them for people to understand,” Ballmer said.
The former Microsoft executive said he wants to provide clear information on government spending, adding that he hopes it will be easier to discuss divisive issues if everyone can agree on the basic facts.