President Barack Obama’s proclamation to his cabinet that they collectively cut out $100 million from the federal budget amounts to much ado about nothing, when the savings is put into perspective. Given the enormous size of the federal operating budget ($1 trillion), trimming a hundred mil amounts to a one-ten-thousandth reduction. For a family that spends $60,000 a year, it’s the equivalent of setting aside $6. For the Defense Department, it would mean building half of one F-22 fighter plane. In terms of foreign military aid, it would produce a savings of 4% of what the US gives out … to Israel. Republicans provided their own example: $100 million is comparable to the daily interest the U.S. government will have to pay over the next decade from February’s stimulus package.