Frequently Asked Questions
The questions people actually ask — about whether this is real, how it's all paid for, and what happens to your data. No spin.
Wait — is this a real campaign?
No. This is a fictional, for-fun parody website. "Rob Avery" is not a real candidate, there's no real committee or party, and nothing here solicits votes, volunteers, or money. It's a project exploring what a radically transparent, fully-costed platform could look like.
How is all of this paid for?
The platform raises more than it spends. New revenue (~$3.44T/yr) beats new spending (~$3.16T/yr), leaving a ~$278B surplus that goes toward the national debt. You can see every dollar in and out on the Budget page.
Will my taxes go up?
For most people, no — and many come out ahead once free healthcare, childcare, and college are counted. The new taxes fall on the wealthiest households, large corporations, and polluters. Find your own bottom line on the How does this affect me? page, or design your own brackets in the Tax Lab.
How can you promise all this spending and a surplus?
By pairing every spending policy with a way to pay for it — closing loopholes, a billionaire wealth tax, corporate-tax reform, a carbon fee, and recaptured healthcare savings. The revenue is bigger than the spending, so it nets to a surplus rather than a deficit. The full reconciliation is on the Budget and Deficit pages.
Are these numbers real?
They're illustrative — simplified, rounded estimates for education, not official CBO scores. The big exception: the national debt and interest rate on the Deficit page are pulled live from the U.S. Treasury. Full details on the Methodology & Sources page.
Where does the live debt number come from?
The U.S. Treasury's public "Debt to the Penny" Fiscal Data API — no login, updated daily. The Deficit page fetches it in your browser and recomputes the payoff against the real figure.
How did you estimate the "odds it happens"?
That's an honest self-assessment, not measured data. Reforms that need a constitutional amendment (term limits, Supreme Court changes) get low odds on purpose; popular statutory fixes get higher ones. It's there to be candid about feasibility.
Is my data saved when I use the calculators?
No. The Tax Lab and impact calculator run entirely in your browser — nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere. If you use a "Share" button, your inputs are encoded into the link you choose to copy; that's it.
Can I share my Tax Lab or impact results?
Yes — both have a share button that puts your scenario into the URL, so you can send someone the exact result. There's also a 🔗 copy-link button on every policy.
Is this a left-wing or right-wing platform?
It's unapologetically progressive on outcomes, but every policy includes the most common objection from Republicans, Democrats, and Independents — with an honest answer to each. Several planks (term limits, a balanced budget that pays down the debt, stock-trading bans, anti-waste transparency) have broad cross-party support.
Who built this, and is it open?
It's a personal, for-fun project — a zero-build static site, and the code and data are open on GitHub. Spot a mistake in the math? Corrections are welcome.
Still curious?
Read the platform, check the math, or see what it would mean for you.